Progress in environmental analytical chemistry and modelling of UVCBs in support of chemicals management

Chemical substances described as “Unknown or Variable compositions, Complex reaction products and Biological materials“ better known as UVCBs, constitute 25 to 35% of global industrial chemical inventories. These substances generally have Chemical Abstract Registry Numbers but do not have molecular formulas due to their complexity. They are very challenging to analyse in environmental media. This presentation will focus on case studies in which UVCBs have been analysed and their environmental partitioning assessed by quantitative structure–property relationships (QSPRs). Modelling approaches such as virtual libraries of organic components of UVCB mixtures will also be included. Science-policy approaches such as persuading chemical manufacturers of the need for analytical standards and information will also be briefly discussed.

Derek Muir is a Research Scientist Emeritus with Environment & Climate Change Canada and holds Adjunct Professor positions at the School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, and in the Dept of Chemistry at University of Toronto as well as an Honorary Professor position with the Queensland Alliance of Environmental Health Sciences. In 2018-19 he held the King Carl XVI Gustaf Professorship in Environmental Science at Stockholm University. His research has focused on persistent and bioaccumulative contaminants with emphasis on identifying new chemicals of concern and assessing long-term trends in environmental media, an interest that he shares with scientists at QAEHS. He was awarded the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) Founder’s Award in 2000 for work on persistent organic pollutants. He is a SETAC Fellow and a Fellow of Canada’s national academy, the Royal Society of Canada. He is author or co-author of over 700 peer reviewed papers, book chapters, and assessment reports.