SCENARIOS Seminar Series

As part of the annual meeting of the H2020-project SCENARIOS, the "First International Workshop on PFAS Transport and PFAS Toxicology" will feature high-level speakers and experts PFAS is the acronym for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and represents a group of emerging contaminants known for their persistence and mobility in the environment.

This is a hotly debated topic these days. Chemicals such as PFOA and PFOS are ubiquitous pollutants found in all environmental matrices and in biota where they readily accumulate. The Po River basin, Italy's largest river, has been subject to constant and continuous contamination with such chemicals. Even though these Legacy PFAS have been restricted since 2014 under the Stockholm Convention, their traces are still present today. The Trissino disaster in the province of Vicenza, Italy, resulted in the contamination of one of the largest underground aquifers in Europe.

A large number of citizens of all ages were exposed to PFAS and will therefore forever carry traces of these substances in their blood. These substances are also of concern to supranational organizations, which are called upon to regulate their use and release. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is due to rule in the next three months whether to ban short carbon chain PFAS, known as alternative PFAS, in firefighting foams. In addition, a public consultation for a full restriction of the entire class of compounds under the European regulation REACH will begin in January 2023 after five EU member states made the proposal.

Today's workshop is the first in a series of workshops designed within the SCENARIOS project to contribute to a better understanding of the effects of PFASs on human health and the environment so that decision makers can make informed and fair decisions about the regulation of these substances.

Scientific Program

14:00-14:30, Prof. Nikolas Thomaidis (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece)
Non Targeted Analysis and PFAS Screening in environmental samples.
14:30-15:00
Prof. Bruno Hagenbuch (University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, USA)
Organic anion transporting polypeptides: a historical perspective.
15:00-15:30
Prof. Marco Parolini (University of Milan) & Dr. Sara Valsecchi (IRSA-CNR, Milan, Italy)
Exposure and effects of PFAS in two resident bird species breeding nearby a fluorochemical plant.
15:30-16:00
DISCUSSION

Join it from Zoom at: Webinar link