On this episode I speak with Gabriel Sigmund, Assistant Professor at Wageningen University and Research, and board member of the International Panel on Chemical Pollution (IPCP).

We discuss:

• Gabriel’s background and research interests
• How the fate of charged organic compounds differs from neutral compounds
• The issue of mobility in the environment and the concern around persistent, mobile and toxic (PMT) substances
• Complex interactions controlling sorption and other fate processes in soil
• The ongoing importance of laboratory experiments in the age of AI
• Data availability and data quality challenges for persistence and mobility assessments
• Implications of the new PMT/vPvM hazard classes under the EU CLP regulation
• Simplification and essential use concepts for chemicals management
• The issue of extreme persistence and the concern around trifluoroacetic acid (TFA)
• Pesticides as a potential source of TFA to the environment
• How differences in worldviews influences the debate on chemicals
• Activities of the SETAC Persistence Science Interest Group

Apologies for some sound issues on this one.

Correction: During the discussion on TFA I commented that I had seen evidence in a presentation by Freeling that concentrations in plant samples had apparently increased four-fold between 2010 and 2020. Having revisited the published work (link below), the approximately four-fold increase was reported over the observation period 1989-2020.

Sorption and Mobility of Charged Organic Compounds: How to Confront and Overcome Limitations in Their Assessment | Environmental Science & Technology

The Global Threat from the Irreversible Accumulation of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA) | Environmental Science & Technology

Pesticides can be a substantial source of trifluoroacetate (TFA) to water resources - ScienceDirect

‘Alarming’ increase in levels of forever chemical TFA found in European wines | Pfas | The Guardian

Levels and Temporal Trends of Trifluoroacetate (TFA) in Archived Plants: Evidence for Increasing Emissions of Gaseous TFA Precursors over the Last Decades | Environmental Science & Technology Letters

Pollution is Colonialism - book by Max Liboiron (2021)

SETAC Persistence Science Interest Group

Webinar recording: Addressing Extreme Persistence – Identification, Behavior and Management of “Forever Chemicals” Beyond PFAS

Upcoming webinar: How to increase understanding of microbial inocula in biodegradation testing?

SETAC Europe 35th Annual Meeting

In Memoriam: John Parsons

Themed collection: Transformation Products and Mixtures – Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts

Ahead of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) annual European conference in Vienna (11-15th May), I caught up with Sabine Apitz, SETAC Europe President and Editor-in-Chief of the academic journal Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management (IEAM).

Sabine and I had a fascinating discussion about environmental science, the scientific community, and the emergence and application of scientific knowledge. We discussed some of the pressing issues and challenges facing the SETAC community, and society at large. Sabine also shared some of what we could look forward to at the upcoming Vienna conference and the 9th SETAC World Congress (and first to be held in Africa) later this year.

Our conversation covers:

• Sabine’s background and career journey
• The emergence and application of scientific knowledge
• Using tools and models to inform environmental policy, and appreciating their limitations
• Sabine’s experience working as an independent consultant
• The role of scientists from different backgrounds in science and policy discussions
• Public representation at SETAC and in broader environmental discourse
• Reflections on the current political environment for science and society at large
• Dealing with complexity in trying to understand ecosystems
• Sabine’s own experience with podcasting
• An unexpected finding from an investigation into hygiene products
• Upcoming SETAC events – Vienna and Johannesburg

This is a great one for anyone interested in learning more about SETAC, the organisation that brings together scientists from across disciplines to study the issue of chemicals in the environment and to inform science-based environmental decisions.

Links from the discussion:

SETAC website: SETAC

Vienna conference: SETAC Europe 35th Annual Meeting

World Congress event: SETAC 9th World Congress

IEAM academic journal: Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management | Oxford Academic

Sabine's editorial (published in 2017): Science, antiscience, and environmental decision making: A call to action | Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management | Oxford Academic

(co-authors: Thomas Backhaus, Peter M Chapman, Wayne Landis, Glenn Suter)

Sabine's podcast: Join the Dots | jointhedots

(co-hosts: Ece Ozdemiroglu and Jill Duggan)

In this episode I speak with Delina Lyon, Science Executive for Environment at Concawe.

Del and I dive deep into the regulatory assessment of complex substances. This issue still presents a wicked challenge for industry and regulators alike, and Concawe's work is right at the forefront of this.

Our conversation covers:

• What is Concawe?
• Del's role at Concawe
• Environmental assessment of petroleum substances under REACH
• Del's early career and switch from academia to industry
• Reflections on the science-policy interface
• Developments in regulatory testing and assessment
• Conflicts of interest and the role of industry scientists
• The wicked problem of complex substances (UVCBs)
• Challenges with biodegradation testing
• Weight of evidence and the Persistence Assessment Tool (PAT)
• The hydrocarbon block method and related tools PETROTOX and PETRORISK
• Persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity (PBT) assessments and the new PMT concept

Concawe website

Persistence Assessment Tool (PAT)

PETROTOX tool - Concawe

PETRORISK tool - Concawe