IEO investigates the impact of emerging pollutants in the marine environment

Research staff from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO, CSIC) participates in the CONTRAST project, which investigates the impact of emerging pollutants in the marine environment.

The project is led by the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) and involves research institutes and universities in Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy and Greece.

CONTRAST aims to develop a method for an integrated assessment of the impact of emerging pollutants on the marine environment to provide a measure of good environmental status that can be applied in European Union environmental policies.

The integrated approach will include chemical measurements of contaminants and biological effects assessment techniques, which will be optimized to detect the presence and degree of effect of emerging contaminants in the marine environment.

These emerging contaminants are chemicals such as pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, personal care products, surfactants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) or pesticides in current use, whose presence in the environment and their potential effects on health and biodiversity have recently begun to be investigated and are under scrutiny for future regulation.

"CONTRAST will identify emerging contaminants that pose the greatest threat to marine life through the use of chemical prioritization schemes and conduct experiments to determine the effects of these contaminants on biological systems and marine biodiversity," says Juan Bellas, researcher at the IEO's Vigo Oceanographic Center and head of the project in Spain. Bioassays will be used and biomarkers will be measured to determine the main mechanisms of toxicity of these pollutants.

In addition, a series of case studies will be carried out at European level to test the suitability of the methods developed to measure the effects of these chemicals on indicator species and biodiversity. The interactions between these pollutants and global change factors will also be studied, including the effects on the distribution, circulation, fate, bioavailability and toxicity of emerging pollutants to marine life.