A group of PhD students based in the Ecotoxicological Risk Assessment Towards Sustainable Chemical Use Centre for Doctoral Training (ECORISC CDT) in LEC have submitted evidence as a part of a parliamentary inquiry into the human impact on the environment in Antarctica.

Imogen Bailes, Lucy Hart, Ola Dosunmu – all PhD students based at Lancaster’s Environment Centre – collaborated with fellow PhD students based at other institutions associated with the ECORISC CDT to submit to the inquiry in January.

The original call for evidence predominantly focused on the impacts of climate change and microplastics in Antarctica, and crucially lacked considerations of the impact of chemical pollution, the specialisation of the ECORISC CDT.

There are a whole suite of chemical classes that have been detected in Antarctica and are a cause for concern, including: heavy metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, so-called ‘forever chemicals’ per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and persistent organic pollutants, as well as microplastics.

Imogen – who was approached by her PhD supervisor about the call - therefore wanted to ensure that the newly-appointed Environmental Audit Committee was aware of the threat chemical pollution poses to even the most remote regions of the world.

Recognising the momentous nature of the task, Imogen drew upon the time and expertise of fellow PhD students (including Ola and Lucy) to draft the evidence for submission, who are all experts in environmental chemistry, ecotoxicology and science-policy. A number of the team members had also recently attended an event at Joint Nature Conservation Committee in which they were required to role-play a select committee meeting, which helped them to better understand the process.

The team met initially to agree the scope and aims for the piece, and then quickly assigned sections based on individual areas of expertise. Once everyone had written their sections, these were then integrated and edited to ensure there was a consistent narrative through the piece, and that the key recommendations were highlighted to the committee. The committee will now put together a report for Government, taking into account all the evidence, and Government must respond, outlining what actions they will take as a result of the recommendations.

On the acceptance of the evidence to the committee, Imogen commented: “We were all delighted to see the evidence was published, and we hope that our submission will ensure chemical pollution is firmly on the agenda for the committee members. Furthermore, we hope that the government will acknowledge the need to tackle pollution globally, alongside climate change and biodiversity loss, given the interconnected nature of this triple planetary crisis.”

Imogen’s PhD supervisor, Dr Andrew Sweetman also remarked: “It is fantastic to see a team of PhD students from the NERC-funded ECORISC put together such an important evidence statement for the Environmental Audit Committee. The ECORIS CDT brings together students working on a wide range of projects covering all aspects of environmental chemistry, ecotoxicology and policy. They have worked collaboratively, bringing their own expertise and perspectives, to produce an excellent document that highlights the impact of chemicals in pristine environments such as the Antarctic.”

Research Policy Impact Manager Janine Bickerstaff added: “It was great to see this evidence published on Parliament’s website. This demonstrates that research from Lancaster University can be considered when forming Government policy, and that researchers of all career stages can have an impact on the policy areas they are expert in and feel strongly about.”

If you would like support with sharing your research with policymakers, please just get in touch with Janine at policy@lancaster.ac.uk.