Chlorinated Emerging Compounds in the Environment

Project acronym: CHLORIMPACT
Topics: Risk Measurement, Environment, Water
Disciplinary fields: Chemistry, Medicine, Toxicology, Pharmacy, Epidemiology, Biology, Microbiology, Law
Summary: Chlorine remains the most widely used chemical disinfectant to control the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in water but also in food. The problem with the use of this chemical compound is its reactivity with the numerous organic molecules present in the media to be treated and the formation of by-products whose nature, toxicity and concentration levels are still largely unknown to this day. It is estimated today that 25 to 40% – depending on the media treated – of all the molecules formed during the use of chlorine are known.
The objective of the project is to bring together the best French and foreign specialists on this issue in order to establish an inventory of current knowledge on these by-products, to identify research areas that will allow a better assessment of the chemical risk associated with these by-products, and to propose either alternative solutions to chlorination or treatment processes for the environment upstream of the use of chlorine to limit the production of by-products.
Project interlocutor: Jean-Luc Boudenne (Laboratoire de Chimie de l’Environnement, UMR 7376)
Project duration: 02/11/2019 – 02/10/2021
Call of proposal: Pépinière d’Excellence 2018
Photography credits: Photo by Lee Jeffs on Unsplash