Pollution

Researchers at Eawag have complied and analysed a globally unique data set on the occurrence of various amphipods in groundwater. They were able to show that land use within a radius of up to one kilometre from the groundwater extraction site has an impact on these sensitive creatures. This could indicate that the current groundwater protection zones are not large enough.

An EPFL study has revealed the impact of five common personal care products when they’re used in enclosed spaces. Surprisingly, when they come into contact with ozone, the products spark chemical reactions generating new air pollutants.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a new way to break down a dangerous subgroup of PFAS known as PFOS. With the help of nanoparticles and ultrasound, piezocatalysis could offer an effective alternative to existing processes in the future.

Microorganisms in biofilms in rivers can break down harmful substances. Some are also able to degrade biocides, including the insect repellent diethyltoluamide (DEET) - or so it is thought. Researchers at the aquatic research institute Eawag have now discovered that DEET is degraded better when the proportion of treated wastewater in the water is high. They attribute this to specific enzymes that occur primarily where wastewater treatment plants return the water to the aquatic environment. However, the enzymes involved are not straightforward to predict.

Researchers at Eawag and the Swiss Data Science Center have trained AI algorithms with a comprehensive ecotoxicological dataset. Now their machine learning models can predict how toxic chemicals are to fish.