2025/3
Welcome to the March issue of EVISA's Speciation Newsletter !

Mercury is one of the most dangerous pollutants, posing significant health risks to humans. While all mercury species are toxic, their degree of toxicity, exposure pathways, and mechanisms of harm vary depending on the specific form of mercury. Understanding these differences is essential for assessing risks, diagnosing exposure, and implementing effective treatment strategies. A brief summary explores the various mercury species and their specific toxicities (see the news below).

Another class of pollutants has recently gained attention in the media and scientific community: "Forever Chemicals." The widespread contamination of water—and consequently human blood—with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is an escalating global concern. These highly stable compounds, characterized by multiple carbon-fluorine bonds, persist in the environment for decades. Growing awareness of human exposure and its potential health effects has led to stricter regulations on the production, import, sale, and use of PFAS.

On February 20, France’s parliament took decisive action by voting to restrict PFAS in certain consumer products, including cosmetics, most clothing, and ski wax—common items in everyday life. The law also mandates regular testing of drinking water for PFAS contamination (see the news below).

Detecting PFAS in the environment is challenging due to their unique properties and widespread use. Current analytical techniques rely on advanced chemistry and high-precision instrumentation. We have summarized available methodologies for PFAS analysis in a series of brief reports (see the news below). Key challenges include the vast number and diversity of PFAS, which cannot be analyzed with a single method, and the risk of sample contamination during collection and testing. Our summaries also address the analytical limitations of different detection methods (see the news below).

Regulatory agencies, such as the U.S. EPA and the European Environment Agency, require adherence to specific PFAS testing protocols. We have compiled a list of standard methods and their characteristics in a brief summary (see the news below).

These summaries, along with referenced studies, provide essential information for accurate and reliable PFAS analysis.



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 information 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.




Standard Methods for the Determination of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
The analysis of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) is a crucial part of environmental testing, given their persistence and potential health impacts. Several standard methods are used for detecting and quantifying PFAS in various matrices (like water, soil, and biota).
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Typical Challenges for PFAS Analysis
Analyzing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) presents several challenges due to their unique properties and widespread use.
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Techniques for the determination of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)
The key technologies used for PFAS detection are a fascinating mix of cutting-edge chemistry and high-precision instrumental techniques.
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Mercury Toxicity: A Brief Overview
Mercury is a heavy metal with well-documented toxic effects on human health and the environment. It exists in three main forms, each with distinct toxicological profiles and mechanisms of action. Understanding the differences between these species is crucial for assessing risks, diagnosing exposure, and implementing effective treatment strategies.
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France's parliament has voted to limit the production and sale of some products containing PFAS, including cosmetics and clothing
France's parliament has taken a decisive step to curb the use of harmful "forever chemicals" by voting to restrict the production, import, and sale of certain products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These include cosmetics, most clothing, and ski wax — all part of daily life in the Alpine nation.
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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.

EGU General Assembly 2025
Date:     April 27, 2025 - May 2,2025
Location:     Vienna, Austria
March 31, 2025    Early registration at reduced fee


AIRMON 2025: 11th International Symposium on Modern Principles of Air Monitoring and Biomonitoring
Date:     June 15, 2025 - June 19, 2025
Location:     Loen, Norway
April 4, 2025    Submission of abstracts
April 16, 2025   Early registration at reduced fee

ISABC 17: 17th International Symposium on Applied Bioinorganic Chemistry
Date:     June 15,2025 - June 18,2025
Location:     Uppsala Sweden
April 8, 2025    Submission of abstracts for oral presentation
April 8, 2025    Early registration at reduced fee
May 6, 2025    Notice of acceptance
May 13, 2025  Submission of abstracts for poster presentations

HPLC 2025: 54th International Symposium on High Performance Liquid Phase Separations and Related Techniques
Date:     June 15, 2025 - June 19, 2025
Location:     Bruges, Belgium
April 1, 2025    Submission of abstracts for poster presentations
April 24, 2025    Early registration at reduced fee
May 30, 2025    Submission of abstracts for late posters

Analytical Research Forum 2025
Date:     June 17, 2025 - June 17, 2025
Location:     London, UK, and online
April 11, 2025    Poster abstract submission deadline
May 5, 2025    Early bird registration closes
June 2, 2025    Standard registration closes


EUROANALYSIS 2025
Date:     August 31, 2025 - September 4,2025
Location:     Barcelona
April 1,2025    Submission of abstracts
April 30,2025    Early registration at reduced fee
June 30,2025    Submission of abstracts for late posters

ICOBTE & ICHMET 2025: 17th International Conference of Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements (ICOBTE) and the 22nd International Conference of Heavy Metals (ICHMET)
Date:     September 22, 2025 - September 26,2025
Location:     Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
March 15, 2025    Submission of abstracts
March 31, 2025    Registration

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

19th Nordic User Meeting ICP-AES/ICP-MS
Location: Säröhus Hotel, Konferens & Spa on Särö, Sweden
Date: 18.03.2025 - 20.03.2025
more

EGU General Assembly 2025
Location: Vienna, Austria
Date: 27.04.2025 - 02.05.2025
more

SETAC Europe 35th Annual Meeting
Location: Vienna, Austria
Date: 11.05.2025 - 15.05.2025
more

Spectr’Atom 2025
Location: Holiday Inn Kingston Waterfront, Kingston, ON, K7L 1A2, Canada
Date: 26.05.2025 - 29.05.2025
more

67th ICASS: 67th International Conference on Analytical Sciences and Spectroscopy
Location: Kingston Market Square Hotel, Kingston, ON, K7L 3B1, Canada
Date: 27.05.2025 - 29.05.2025
more

73rd ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry
Location: Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, Maryland
Date: 01.06.2025 - 05.06.2025
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


Other



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 300 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.

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LINKS

EVISA provides an easy access to external information. Our database contains more than 2850 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.