With over 350,000 chemicals currently estimated to be available commercially, the role of the analytical chemist has become increasingly challenging to detect, monitor and assess any associated environmental and human risks. Chemical pollution in the UK water cycle represents a complex situation which has been fuelled by water industry privatisation, ineffective regulation and policy, and lack of a chemicals strategy compounded by its EU-exit. For example, no English river now has good chemical status and only 14 % have good ecological status. This presentation will discuss recent research that focussed on chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) across drinking water, surface water and wastewater. In particular, the use of novel, scalable and sustainable methodologies will be discussed to enable higher spatio-temporal resolution analysis and risk assessment, including new multimodal sampling technologies (including 3D printed multimodal passive samplers), automated sample preparation robotics for large scale complex water analysis, and new opportunities in chemical analysis using mass spectrometry-based methods. The first application focuses on household drinking water, particularly for per- and poly-fluorinated chemicals (PFAS) and disinfectant by products analysis using both non-targeted and targeted mass spectrometry. The second application focusses on fresh water, particularly on the identification of new high risk pesticide source signatures as well as some lessons learned from engagement in local-national scale ‘citizen science’ activities for CECs. The third application focusses on national wastewater-based epidemiology, particularly to estimate community drug consumption patterns at high temporal resolution.

Professor Barron leads the Emerging Chemical Contaminants team within the Environmental Research Group at Imperial College London. His laboratory explores environmental issues in the UK ranging from sources, risks and impacts on environmental and public health, closely related to activities at Eawag. His work spans across all environmental spheres (soil, water, air and biological materials) and pollutant classes from pharmaceuticals and personal care products to pesticides, 'forever chemicals' (PFAS), and disinfectant by-products. He recently co-authored an article with Christoph Ort on international wastewater monitoring for spatio-temporal illicit drug use (link). His holistic scientific approach and case studies that are relatable to our everyday lives should makes this seminar exiting to a broad audience at Eawag and beyond.