2014/03
Welcome to the March issue of EVISA's Speciation Newsletter.

One major driving force for the establishment of analytical techniques and methodologies is legislation. This can be observed for example with the new pharma rules (USP 232/233) requiring the control of heavy metals that have creates a new market for sensitive atomic spectrometry techniques (mainly ICP-MS) for the pharma industry. For speciation analysis the requirements enforced by legislation are internationally quite limited (see EVISA chapter on legislation). The development of the new pharma rule sheds light on the difficulties involved. While the analytical techniques required are state-of-the-art already for a long time, the values describing the tolerated upper concentrations of the analytes have to be defined by means of toxicology and risk assessment. This was already the major problem for trace elements in pharmaceuticals but is even more a point of discussion for metal (metalloid) species in whatever products or matrix (food, drinking water, etc.). For this reason the only slowly ongoing discussion has limited the establishment of rules for species. One of the few examples of species regulated is hexavalent chromium. Because of its carcinogenicity, hexavalent chromium [ Cr(VI)] is regulated in the atmosphere of workplaces (welders etc.), drinking water, cement, electronic devices (WEE) and automobiles. Because of the possibility to induce allergic effects by contact with the skin, the EU now adds another rule to this list, e.g. one for all leather products that might come into contact with the skin (see the News below).

Other rules, especially for toxic species in food products are already under discussion for decades. One problem is often the lack of data on the exposure and toxicity related to the species under discussion. Methylmercury in seafood and inorganic arsenic in foodstuffs are such species. Legislative bodies have difficulties to create rules based on toxicological data from the dietary exposure that would significantly restrict the marketing of food products such as fish, algae, rice and other foodstuffs contaminated with mercury and arsenic. Consumer protection and environmental advocates now filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for failing to respond to a July 2011 petition in which the groups asked the FDA to give consumers clear, accurate and accessible information about toxic mercury in the seafood they eat (see the News below).

The mercury accumulated by fish is a result of mercury emitted to the environment resulting to a significant part from human activities. How and where the transformation from inorganic mercury to methylmercury takes place is still under discussion. New research now shows that it is the water concentration and not the concentration in sediments that drives the bioaccumulation by fish (see the news below).



NEWS | EVENTS | VACANCIES | DIRECTORY | LINKS
NEWS

EVISA is keeping you updated  with what is going on in speciation analysis. In this section you will find news about the most current research results, about trends, legal issues and informations from manufacturers in the field of speciation analysis.

With all the links to further information and publications the News archive is a valuable collection of "hot topics" in speciation analysis. We continuously update even former news with new links and information so that all news are actual all the time.


EU’s proposal to restrict Cr (VI) in leather in final stages
From early 2015 hexavalent chromium will be regulated throughout the EU by the REACH Regulation and all sectors of the supply chain should be aware of the new legislation. The amendment of REACH Annex XVII of (EC) No 1907/2006 regarding chromium VI compounds in leather articles and articles containing leather parts will restrict hexavalent chromium content to 3 mg/kg (0.0003%). This is in line with legislation currently in place in European nations such as Germany.
more

Mercury in Fish: Groups Sue FDA for Seafood Health Information
Yesterday, consumer protection and environmental advocates filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for failing to respond to a July 2011 petition in which the groups asked the FDA to give consumers clear, accurate and accessible information about toxic mercury in the seafood they eat.
more

New study shows: Coastal water, not sediment, predicts methylmercury bioaccumulation in the marine food web
A Dartmouth-University of Connecticut study of the northeast United States shows that methylmercury concentrations in estuary waters -- not in sediment as commonly thought -- are the best way to predict mercury contamination in the marine food chain.
more


EVENTS

With a list of about 50 current entries EVISA is informing you about interesting events and keeps you updated with their deadlines. By consulting our list of deadlines you won't miss the opportunity for early registration at reduced fee or the chance to submit your contribution in time.
 more infos...


HPLC 2014, International Symposium on High Performance Liquid Phase Separations and Related Techniques

Date:     May 11,2014 - May 15,2014
Location:     New Orleans, USA
March 24,2014    Final abstract deadline to submit for poster presentation
March 24,2014    Registration deadline for authors presenting lectures and posters

IAP 2014: International Conference on Interfaces against Pollution

Date:     May 25,2014 - May 28,2014
Location:     De Harmonie, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
March 31,2014    Early registration at reduced fee


7th Nordic Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry

Date:     June 1,2014 - June 4,2014
Location:     Loen, Norway
April 1,2014    Early registration at reduced fee
April 7,2014    Submission of abstracts


DUST 2014: International Conference on Atmospheric Dust

Date:     June 1,2014 - June 6,2014
Location:     Castellaneta Marina, Italy
March 31,2014    Early registration at reduced fee


ISMEC2014: International Symposium on Metal Complexes 2014

Date:     June 8,2014 - June 12,2014
Location:     Pavia, Italy
March 31,2014    Early Registration at reduced fee
March 31,2014    Submission of abstracts
April 30,2014    Late registration


ISEAC38: The 38th International Symposium on Environmental Analytical Chemistry

Date:     June 17,2014 - June 20,2014
Location:     Lausanne, Switzerland
March 17,2014    Submission of abstracts
April 1,2014    Early registration at reduced fee


BioMetals 2014

Date:     July 13,2014 - July 18,2014
Location:     Durham, NC USA
April 11,2014    Early registration at reduced fee
May 15,2014    Submission of abstracts


BNASS/TraceSpec 2014: Tandem Conference

Date:     August 31,2014 - September 4,2014
Location:     University of Aberdeen– Aberdeen, Scotland
March 28,2014    Submission of abstracts
June 15,2014    Standard registration at reduced fee


Please do not hesitate to inform us in case that your conference related to speciation analysis is missing in our Agenda.

ESAS 2014: European Symposium on Atomic Spectrometry / 15th Czech -Slovak Spectroscopic Conference
Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Date: 16.03.2014 - 21.03.2014
more

Analytica 2014 – 24th International Trade Fair for Laboratory Technology, Analysis, Biotechnology and Analytica Conference
Location: Munich, Germany
Date: 01.04.2014 - 04.04.2014
more

TEF-5: 5th International IUPAC Symposium for Trace Elements in Food
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Date: 06.05.2014 - 09.05.2014
more

17th Radiochemical Conference
Location: Marianske Lazne, Czech Republic
Date: 11.05.2014 - 16.05.2014
more

HPLC 2014, International Symposium on High Performance Liquid Phase Separations and Related Techniques
Location: New Orleans, USA
Date: 11.05.2014 - 15.05.2014
more

IAP 2014: International Conference on Interfaces against Pollution
Location: De Harmonie, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
Date: 25.05.2014 - 28.05.2014
more



VACANCIES

EVISA provides information about open positions for Ph.D. students, PostDocs and permanent staff in the field of speciation. Looking to fill a vacancy or needing a new career challenge? Either way this service is FREE. Many laboratories and research facilities (from Greenland to Crete) have already found their highly educated stuff through this service by EVISA. If you would like to post an open position here, please contact us at info@speciation.net !


Doctorates


Postdoctoral

Environment Canada (Ottawa, Ontario): Trace metal speciation and analytical method development
The Air Analysis and Quality Section of Environment Canada (Ottawa, Ontario) has an position available for someone who will qualify for the NSERC Visiting Fellowships in Canadian Government Laboratories (VF) Program. The tenure is for 12 months with the possibility of extending the contract for up to 3 years.
more


Other

Brussels, Belgium: Assistant professor in Analytical Chemistry at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The research unit Analytical, Environmental and Geo-Chemistry (AMGC) within the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Bio-engineering Sciences at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) has an opening for an assistant professor in analytical chemistry, starting in the fall of 2014.
more

Umweltbundesamt, Wien: ExpertIn für Umweltanalytik
als Karenzvertretung zur Umsetzung umweltbezogener Analytik-Projekte
more



DIRECTORY

EVISA's directory of scientist is a versatile tool to facilitate contact with scientists in the field of speciation and related sciences. The directory is fully searchable for names, addresses, research topics etc.  You should bookmark this directory as an always up-to-date address book. (In order to hinder SPAM robots for collecting the E-mail accounts, we hide them in a special format).

More than 280 active scientists in the field of speciation analysis already joined the directory. Join this great directory that is extensively linked to all type of other information on this site, such as homepages, conferences and literature.

If your entry is still missing in this directory, please contact us at info@speciation.net.

more


LINKS

EVISA provides an easy access to external information. Our database contains more than 2700 links to relevant information from numerous top scientific resources spread over the whole Web. The database is searchable both via full-text and categories such as elements, type of species and type of information. We are permanently updating our links section.

If your web site is missing here, please e-mail your link information to info@speciation.net.

 
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No responsibility is assumed by the publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. The Newsletter represents only the opinion of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Community. The European Community is not responsible for any use that might be made of the information provided.