POPscreen – Identification of emerging organic pollutants in archived biota

Thousands of chemicals are continuously emitted from the society into the environment and may cause adverse effects on wildlife and humans. The chemicals of most concern are substances with PBT properties, i.e. chemicals that are highly persistent (P), liable to bioaccumulate (B), and toxic (T). However, there is a huge lack of knowledge on occurrence and levels of contaminants of emerging concern in food webs. In this project, we wanted to screen for known emerging chemicals, previously unknown (or not well known) chemicals, and their transformation products in time series of biota by using the biological sample bank at the Swedish Museum of Natural History. Screening methodology for emerging organic pollutants was developed and the new/improved methodology was applied for marine, limnic, and terrestrial top predators using high resolution mass-spectrometry.

The ultimate aim was to identify priority pollutants for monitoring and emission control and provide new knowledge to incorporate in e.g. environmental monitoring programs, and to support international directives and action plans.