Perfluoroalkyl substances are ubiquitous environmental contaminants which persist and bioaccumulate. As a consequence, several PFAAs have been detected in different biota worldwide.
Exposure and Effect Modelling
Bio-accumulation and trophic transfer of pollutants (metals, POPs and pesticides) in tropical freshwater aquatic food webs
The research focuses on the pollution (local and global) of tropical fresh water aquatic systems by micro-and macro pollutants (metals, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants, nutrients) and the bi
DNA barcoding and the phylogeny of Flemish Trichoptera
This research project investigates the phylogeny for the caddisflies (Cl. Insecta; O. Trichoptera) occurring in lowland freshwater systems in Flanders.
Engineered Nanoparticle Impact on Aquatic Environments: Structure, Activity and Toxicology (ENNSATOX)
ENNSATOX is a small collaborative project, funded by the EU under the 7th Framework's NMP Theme.
Development of a risk-assessment and biomarkers to predict human risk during exposure to soil contamination.
One of the most commonly asked questions of redevelopment of contaminated sites is whether the site can be used for human habitation and whether it can be implemented into urban development. In order to address this question we need to assess the spatial degree of contamination and evaluate the risks involved. This risk is highly dependent on various aspects of land use, the type of people that are involved (for instance the age category), the time spent in the contaminated site, etc. At present, different areas of the NW-Europe region have different risk assessment procedures to assess human risks, however, little is know on the spatial variation that occur in contaminated sites. We would not like to re-invent the wheel, but rather integrate modules of these existing procedures in our spatial and visual risk systems. Obviously, as we cannot model every single aspect of risk for all different age groups, so we will focus on the risks for the most vulnerable age groups, i.e. small children. In this project we will integrate the existing legislative framework of the UK, Flanders (Belgium) and the Netherlands into a Decision support system. This will allow the end-user to evaluate the soil contamination in a European perspective. Our primary focus will be on heavy metals as they are the contaminant most frequently occurring in contaminated areas and because they have been extensively studied.
