News & Features

While research into the effects of microplastics has expanded greatly in the past decade, important questions about what concentrations are hazardous in water still remain unanswered. Moreover, water contains naturally occurring suspended particles, such as clay, that are of the same size as microplastic and may be equally harmful to aquatic life when present at high concentrations. With that in …

Which is the best student city in the world? Stockholm is ranked 37th based on QS Best Student Cities 2019.  Published annually, the ranking show the best urban destinations for international students based on different indicators grouped into categories like University Rankings, Student Mix, Desirability, Employer Activity, Affordability and Student View. This year’s ranking is topped by London and followed …

Microplastics are small (less than 5 mm) pieces of plastic litter. They mainly originate from the breakdown of plastic debris in rivers and seas, but are also flushed out from other sources such as personal hygiene products that contain microbeads. Once in the ocean, the fate of microplastics is largely unknown. To address that question, PhD students Zandra Gerdes and Sophia …

The Swedish financier Mistra and industry partners are collectively investing SEK 100 million in the four-year research program SAFECHEM, which aims to create a sustainable chemicals industry and reduce exposure to hazardous substances. Of all the applicants involved, Stockholm University has been awarded the largest sum, approximately SEK 30 million. Within the framework of SAFECHEM, Stockholm University, together with Stockholm …

Stockholm University ranks 30th in environmental studies and 191st overall, according to the QS World University Ranking 2020 published on June 19th.  The QS World University Ranking is regarded as one of the most prestigious ranking lists in the world of higher education. This year’s edition includes over 1 500 institutions from 85 different countries. Stockholm University holds place 191, …

Human exposure to unnecessary and potentially harmful chemicals could be greatly reduced if manufacturers add chemicals only when they are truly essential in terms of health, safety and functioning of society. That’s the conclusion of a study published in Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts. In this study, researchers propose a framework based on the concept of “essential use” to determine …

Delhi is like nowhere I’ve been before. The streets burst with people and noise and life. Clothes are brighter than elsewhere; the smells are stronger and deeper and ever changing. The food has more flavour. The soundscape – people shouting, car horns honking and the general background din – is completely unrelenting. It’s an onslaught to the senses. Traffic flows …

REACH is considered by many to be the best chemicals legislation in the world. But the high demands on the producers and importers are ineffective if the data they submit to the European Chemicals Agency is not being examined. In a new policy brief, researchers at ACES call for greater transparency and better control within REACH. The European chemicals legislation …

The concentration of antifouling paints used on leisure boats exceeds safety values in both water, sediment and soil, shows a new PhD thesis from ACES. “My research shows that the use of antifouling paints pollutes the environment, not only when the boats are in the water but also when the hulls are subjected to maintenance activities on land. The results …

Arctic rivers may hold vital clues to the accelerated release of carbon stored in Arctic permafrost, shows a new study by researchers from ACES published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. “Rivers transport carbon from different sources in their catchments, including carbon mobilized from thawing permafrost or collapsing peat, as well as carbon from …

Det finns en stor efterfrågan på utbildade miljö- och hälsoinspektörer ute bland kommunerna i Storstockholm. Anmälan till masterprogrammet i miljö- och hälsoskydd (MHS) stänger snart. Skicka in din ansökan redan idag för att inte missa chansen! “På ACES har vi spetskompetens inom allt från luft och miljökemi till miljögifter och ekotoxikologi. Den kompetens som saknas tar man hjälp av utifrån, …

The cocktail of man-made chemicals that we are exposed to daily is a health risk which current regulations and risk assessment overlook. This is the conclusion of the EU Horizon 2020 EDC-MixRisk project that is now being presented.  We are exposed to a large number of man-made chemicals in our everyday life. This creates combinations of chemical mixtures, to which …