Professor Stephen Blanksby will lead an ARC Linkage project, funded by a $402,228 grant, titled Resolving the PFAS exposome through advances in mass spectrometry.
QUT Professor Blanksby said per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were "forever chemicals" used in firefighting foams and other products that had caused contaminated land and water across Australia and had been detected in the general population and specific communities with high exposure.
"This project will deliver next-generation mass spectrometry-based analytical capabilities for rapid and confident identification of these substances across diverse materials from clothing to concrete and biological tissues and fluids," Professor Blanksby said.
"These technologies will close the knowledge gap as to the extent of molecular diversity in PFAS chemicals and thus provide critical insights into the exposure risks they pose to human health and the Australian environment, including the Antarctic territories.
"The project's outcomes will drive advanced monitoring of environmental pollutants in Australia and train a highly skilled workforce to meet growing demand from this technology sector."
Chief investigators are Professor Blanksby, Dr David Marshall, from QUT's Central Analytical Research Facility and Associate Professor Leisa-Maree Toms from QUT's School of Public Health and Social Work faculty-of-health/school-of-; Dr Sandra Nilsson, Dr Brett Hamilton and Professor Roger Wepf from The University of Queensland; Professor Susan Bengtson Nash from Griffith University. Partner investigators are Dr Karl Bowles from Defence Security and Estate Group, Jacobs Group (Australia) Pty; Dr Ross Farrell from Iugotec PTY Ltd; Martin Green from Waters Corporation.
Main image, from left: Professor Stephen Blanksby, Associate Professor Leisa-Maree Toms and Dr David Marshall.
