emec22stageThe Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water was the Platinum Sponsor for the 22nd European Meeting on Environmental Chemistry (EMEC22), an interdisciplinary conference that covers a broad range of topics within the field of environmental chemistry.

EMEC22 was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from 5 to 8 December 2022. It brought together onsite scientists and researchers, both senior as well as early-stage, working in the field of environmental chemistry, sustainability, and resilience to report the latest advances in their fields.

EMEC is organised annually on behalf of the Association for Chemistry and the Environment (ACE). It is held in early December and always attracts high quality science presentations from internationally renowned researchers in environmental chemistry and related areas.

PSIPW has supported EMEC since 2017 by providing grants to plenary speakers and awards to young researchers.

silvialacorte113x116PSIPW supported two plenary speakers at the conference. The first was Professor Silvia Lacorte, vice-director of the IDAEA-CSIC, discussed how soils are a sink for legacy and emerging pollutants, including flame retardants, plasticizers, pesticides and metals. She also explores the impacts this has on natural areas and identifies the anthropogenic factors of artificial land, mining, and pesticide use as the main activities affecting the quality of soils.

esterheath113x116The second plenary speaker was Professor Ester Heath, who is Head of the Laboratory for Organic Analytical Chemistry within the Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute and a full professor at the International Postgraduate School Jožef Stefan in Ljubljana, Slovenia. She spoke about the evaluation of the sources, cycling and fate of emerging chemicals, focusing on a wide range of bisphenols, which have been detected at low levels in surface and groundwater, and the growing concern that these chemicals can negatively impact the ecosystem’s well-being.

emec22winnersA crucial aspect of EMEC is the support it gives to young researchers. There are a number of young participants, whose presentation are judged by a jury who nominate the best papers. The best posters by young researchers are also selected.

These young researchers are honoured at the EMEC Awards Ceremony on the conference’s final day with awards provided through PSIPW’s Prince Sultan Participation Grant programme.

This year, two paper presenters and six poster presenters were honoured.