Plastic pollution has become a global environmental and societal concern in recent years. Numerous protocols have been developed to monitor plastic debris, but these are rarely comparable. This has hindered gathering of knowledge regarding pollution sources, development of monitoring programmes and risk assessments and implementation of mitigation measures. To develop long-term solutions to reduce plastic pollution, it is essential to establish harmonised methodologies. EUROqCHARM will address this by critically reviewing state-of-the-art analytical methods and, taking harmonisation one step further, validating them through an interlaboratory comparison (ILC) study. This will bring together prominent laboratories in environmental plastics analysis and will produce certified reference materials to be marketed for at least three of the four target matrices (water, soil/sediment, biota, air), during and after project completion. EUROqCHARM recognises that harmonisation for large scale monitoring requires flexibility, comparability and reliability. We will identify Reproducible Analytical Pipelines (RAP), resulting in a catalogue of RAP procedures for nano-, micro- and macro-plastics for the four target matrices. Each RAP will be validated in terms of Technology Readiness Level to decide if further validation is needed (by ILC). Blueprints for standards, recommendations for policy and legislation and support for the establishment of acceptable reference levels and environmental targets will be given. This will include a roadmap for harmonised data collection and management, where policy analysis and coherence will be integral parts. To maximise impact, EUROqCHARM will also establish and consolidate an operational network for plastic monitoring, stimulating Transnational Joint Actions built on existing and future European and international initiatives. The multi-stakeholder composition of EUROqCHARM puts the group in a unique position to achieve these ambitious goals.

The chemical metrology sector has not been able to keep up with the pace of the chemical industry, which introduces ca. 2000 new chemicals in the market every year. Most chemicals in use today remain almost completely unknown regarding persistence and impact on the environment and society. Delayed action on emerging chemical pollutants has resulted in widespread human exposures and risks, and lessons should be learned from this example and not repeated for the newer chemicals entering the market. Thus, the metrology sector is under strong pressure to radically improve and become highly efficient. The REVAMP project aims at supporting this change by providing cutting-edge training to four young researchers fostering enhanced sustainability of the chemical metrology. This will be achieved through the deployment of scalable solutions to rapidly identify, develop, produce and deploy new certified reference materials and methods for the assessment of the huge amount of existing and emerging chemical compounds with toxicity potential. Together, the ESRs will combine academic research and industrial knowledge to overcome specific challenges at the interface of organic and analytical chemistry and toxicology, applied to the chemical metrology cycle. The ESRs will be trained by an innovative network composed of a leading European academic & research institution, and five leading companies/institutes covering key sub-sectors of the chemical metrology value chain, and including an intersectoral approach. The REVAMP ESRs will obtain a doctoral degree and gain strong skills that match the needs from both industry and academia, increasing significantly their employability and career prospects.

Chlorinated Paraffins (CP) are considered as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP). Although the short chain CPs (SCCPs) have been banned on a global level the production of CPs is alarmingly large (2m tons/yr.). Being persistent, CPs stay in the environment for decades. Their greatest threats are their high potential for bioaccumulation and carcinogenic potential to humans and other mammals. Unfortunately, CPs are found in a great deal of applications, including plasticizers, flame retardants and metal working fluids, causing potential exposure. A significant challenge concerning CPs is the considerable lack of effective and generally accepted reference standards, which means that the identification and quantification of CPs are currently sub-standard. These deficient analytical methods do not provide the needed precision for meaningful analysis and monitoring of CP presence in e.g. water, soil and foodstuff. At Chiron we are experts in the preparation of standards for chemical and biological analysis and in the development of 13C-labelled Certified Reference Materials (CRM), especially focussed on forensic toxicology and biomarkers for various applications (e.g. environmental and geochemical analysis). We wish to use our knowledgebase to develop a CP CRM production platform which includes pure native standards, 13C labelled CPs, and new analysis methods for the quantification of CPs. This will have considerable impact within environmental toxicology by empowering analysts to provide detailed and meaningful analyses of CP presence in the environment, allowing for greater monitoring and control. Since the specific CP expertise does not currently exist in-house, Chiron will need to employ an Innovation Associate through the Innovation Associate Program, who with his/her capabilities within organic chemistry, chemical synthesis and CPs will be of essence to the R&D activities associated with the development of these new CRMs and the associated production platforms.