INFLAME is a Marie Curie Initial Training Network of 9 different European research institutions with 12 Early Stage Researchers (Ph.D. students) and 2 Experienced Researchers (post-doctoral scientists). The main research goal is to further understanding of how and to what extent flame retardant (FR) chemicals used in every-day consumer goods and construction materials enter humans and of the risk to health that such exposure presents. Our vision is that this enhanced understanding will inform assessment of risk associated both with recent and current-use flame retardant chemicals, and of those under development, and ultimately lead to more sustainable approaches to meeting fire safety regulations. Our principal objectives are to discover:
(1) the mechanisms via which FRs migrate from products within which they are incorporated;
(2) how and to what extent such migration leads to human exposure; and
(3) the effects of such exposure.
To achieve our goal and objectives we will use a range of state-of-the-art techniques associated with analytical chemistry, electron microscopy, human biomonitoring, in vitro toxicology mathematical modelling, and “omics”. The network is an interdisciplinary cooperative of chemists, biologists, physicists and toxicologists. Intersectoral aspects unite basic and applied scientists working in universities, two SMEs, a large (non-university) public sector research organisation and a government research institute. The project’s S&T objectives will be delivered through research in 3 Work Packages (WPs): viz. WP1- Migration pathways, WP2- Human exposure (pathways and monitoring), and WP3- Understanding effects of human exposure.
At ACES the following projects within WP2 have been carried out.
ESR project – Determining the contribution of indoor air ventilation to outdoor contamination.
ER project – Examining the correlation between external exposure and human body burdens – a modelling approach
At IVL the following project within WP2 has been carried out with an ESR enrolled as a PhD student at ACES.
ESR project – Modelling indoor emissions and fate of FRs .
