EMPODAT: a database of geo-referenced monitoring / occurrence data on emerging substances
EMPODAT is designed to allow to the latest information on emerging pollutants with an overview of benchmark values on the occurrence of emerging substances across Europe and to identify gaps in data relating to time, geographical areas and/ or environmental matrices. It comprises a Chemistry module for monitoring and occurrence data on emerging substances which are already known to be present in the environment but which are not yet included in routine monitoring programmes. Data can be submitted by participants using downloadable templates from the website. EMPODAT is currently being integrated in the European Information Platform for Chemical Monitoring (IPCHEM), which will improve even further its added value for efficient exchange of information on emerging substances in Europe.
Figure 3: the top 10 laboratories who have contributed to the NORMAN MassBank mass spectral database. Reproduced with permission from the NORMAN Network.
Figure 4: the top 10 instrument combinations which have employed to contribute to the NORMAN MassBank mass spectral database. Reproduced with permission from the NORMAN Network.
Working Group 3: - Effect-directed analysis (EDA) for hazardous pollutants identification
Many of the large numbers of synthetic chemicals we use in everyday life eventually end up in the environment where they do not occur one by one but as complex mixtures. The activities of the EDA working group focus on the development and testing of effect-based tools to unravel these complex mixtures and to understand the cause and effect relationships between contamination and the impact of exposure on microorganisms, plants, animals and humans.
Working Group 4: -Nano and micro scale particulate contaminants
The increasing volumes of engineered nanomaterials and natural particulate contaminants will lead to a proliferation of these materials in the environment with poorly understood effects on ecosystems. Therefore, this working group focuses on increasing our understanding of particle behaviour in the environment and the resulting consequences on ecosystems.
Working Group 5: - Wastewater Reuse and Contaminants of Emerging Concern
Treated wastewater is now widely reused and is increasingly employed as a reliable alternative water source for irrigation and replenishment. Although wastewater reuse is accompanied by a number of benefits, there are a number of questions around emerging contaminants and their potential uptake by plants and crops and the effects that these contaminants may have on the environment. This group studies many aspects of waste water reuse including its role in antibiotic resistance, the identification of technologies to remove such contaminants from wastewater, and the identification of solutions to overcome these problems and promote safe reuse practices.
Working Group 6: -Emerging substances in the indoor environment
Consumer products used indoors contain a variety of both well-known chemicals and emerging substances which can be transferred into indoor air and dust and is therefore becoming
an important pathway of chemical exposure for humans and the outdoor environment. This working group aims to improve the indoor environment by studying all aspects of emerging chemicals and chemical groups and improve harmonisation of sampling, measurement and modelling techniques. The data will be used to identify important pathways of chemical exposure for humans indoors together with pathways to the outdoor environment to improve links between policy and science in the field of the indoor environment.
Cross Working Group Activities
In addition, there are two cross-working group activities on technologies which could be applied across the topic-based groups. The first one works on the application of Passive Sampling for Emerging Contaminants (Figure 2) which are proving to be reliable, robust and cost-effective monitoring tools for the time-integrated measurement of bioavailable contaminants in water and sediment. The second group on Non-Target Screening works on the application of screening techniques to detect the presence of harmful substances, including degradation by-products and metabolites, which are not screened for by conventional target based approaches. Thanks to the application of high resolution chromatographic and mass spectrometric techniques thousands of compounds and their transformations can now be detected and structurally identified routinely in a single environmental sample. Non-target screening is expected to become an efficient tool to identify new emerging substances, prioritise them and identify the effect-causing compounds.
NORMAN Databases
The network has developed, maintains and is integrating web- based databases as a framework for the systematic collection, elaboration and scientifically sound evaluation of information on emerging substances. This long-term activity aims to facilitate bringing together existing knowledge on emerging substances and to accelerate the transfer of high quality validated data to policy makers and legislators.
NORMAN MassBank: a database of mass spectra of unknown or provisionally identified substances. This is mass spectrometric database used for the identification of “unknown” substances and represents a source of potential candidate substances which should be considered for inclusion in the current list of emerging substances. The spectral data has been submitted by 38 contributing laboratories from around the world and the top 10 contributors who account for circa 85% of the data are shown in Figure 3. The data has been acquired from 35 different combinations of chromatography, ionisation type and mass spectrometer with the top 10 shown in Figure 4. At the time of writing the database contained over 47,000 mass spectra attributed to over 15,000 compounds. The database has an excellent keyword search facility with filters for compound name, accurate mass, formula and instrument type allowing visitors to rapidly find spectral information. There is also a peak search facility where peak data can be entered, again with instrument type filters. This database is a highly valuable reference for researchers and industry stakeholders using mass spectrometry in every day analysis.
NORMAN Suspect List Exchange (SusDat database): As part of a series of workshops in September 2014, NORMAN members expressed the need to exchange various lists of substances to improve their suspect screening efforts and this website was established in 2015 as a central access point for NORMAN members (and others) to find suspect lists relevant for their environmental monitoring.
NORMAN List of Emerging Substances
NORMAN has identified a list of the currently most frequently discussed emerging substances and pollutants and the latest update published on the site from February 2016 contains 967 compounds. The Prioritisation Working group is now aiming to expand the NORMAN List of emerging substances to a much larger list of compounds in line with the evolution of technology towards “big data” management. The NORMAN SusDat database contains more than 40,000 compounds which will become the new reference list of compounds for the Prioritisation of Emerging Substances Working Group and the NORMAN List of emerging substances will then be defined as the highest-ranked compounds from SusDat which deserve priority actions.
Conclusion
Having been introduced to the NORMAN network and then exploring the excellent website I can only conclude by fully agreeing with the following statement taken from the site “NORMAN should become the primary data source and a global one-stop-shop for all issues regarding emerging substances, contributing to the creation of the early-warning system for emerging pollutants and subsequent policy actions”
Acknowledgement
The author would like to acknowledge the assistance of
Ms.Valeria Dulio, the Executive Secretary of the NORMAN network in the preparation of this article.
Author Contact Details Tom Lynch CSci, CChem FRSC, Independent Analytical Consultant, Cricket House, High St, Compton, Newbury, RG20 6NY • Email:
tomlynch.lynch@
btinternet.com
www.envirotech-online.com AET October / November 2017
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