PhD: Plasticiser in the UK terrestrial environment: occurrence and bioaccumulation?
CEH Wallingford / CEH Lancaster
I am interested in the environmental fate and ecotoxicology of plasticisers in the terrestrial environment. The properties of plastics are determined in part by a cocktail of various additives known as plasticisers. The effects of these plasticisers on ecosystems are not well constrained and given the widespread presence of microplastic in the terrestrial environment these additives may represent a significant anthropogenic input to terrestrial ecosystems. My research aims to investigate the spatial distribution and environmental fate of common plasticisers, as well as their potential toxicokinetic effects at different trophic levels.
I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of York, graduating in 2016 with an MChem in Chemistry. During my degree I developed an interest in analytical environmental chemistry, which led to a final-year research project investigating the potential for a novel derivatisation procedure to improve the analysis of archaeal membrane lipids in HPLC-MS.
See Alex’s research poster below for more information about this exciting research. This poster was created by Alex during an Infographics training course delivered by Infohackit and organised by Envision.
