Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

Postdoctoral Fellow

Head of Research Department

Persistent, mobile (PM) substances are being recognized as serious threats to the safety of water resources. In many cases, drinking water supplies have to be purified using expensive technologies because of contamination by PM substances. As part of this effort, a new, wide-reaching European Research project with NIVA as one of the partners, Zero Pollution of Persistent, Mobile substances, (ZeroPM) will start in autumn 2021.

The contaminant concentrations in the marine environment are decreasing along the Norwegian coastline – but there are some exceptions. In many urban areas, long-term trends for mercury in cod fillet are upwards. In the Inner Oslofjord, mercury levels in cod fillet have increased over the past 35 years, but leveled out during the past 10 years.

The screening programme is our first instance of investigating the occurrence of new types of pollutants. The results are used to assess the need for new regulations and whether the investigated substance should be included in the other monitoring programmes.

 The section works with the unregulated chemicals. We are developing new sampling methods and analysis methods that make it possible to investigate whether they are present in the environment and, if so, where. 

NIVA has a broad research community that develops new knowledge about pollution.