It is one of the most important and largest conferences on ecotoxicology and environmental chemistry in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland: the SETAC GLB. Researchers present their findings on topics such as the effects of pesticides on soil and insects, microplastics in the environment, and pollutants and antibiotic resistance in wastewater. This conference took place in September at the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen (THM).
220 participants from German-speaking countries gathered in Giessen for four days at the invitation of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry German Language Branch (SETAC GLB). In addition to the technical presentations, a field day was part of the conference. At the Neu-Ulrichstein Research Center in Homberg (Ohm), participants showcased their field research methods at 30 booths, offering hands-on science. Besides research institutes, government agencies, companies, and other institutions also participated.
Among them were the Analytical Task Force of the Dortmund Fire Department and the Federal Environmental Specimen Bank. The Federal and State Governments established the Analytical Task Forces in 2002 to warn and protect the public from chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear hazards. A total of eight mobile task forces exist in Germany, each capable of collecting and analyzing samples on-site within a 200-kilometer radius. They can identify gaseous, liquid, and solid substances as well as mixtures of substances. The highly specialized staff explained the precise methods to the conference participants during the field day in the specially constructed mobile laboratory.
The Federal Environmental Specimen Bank is an archive of samples. These are collected regularly in a specific area to track changes in pollution levels over time. Sample collection areas include the Wadden Sea, the Rhine, the Elbe, and Berchtesgaden. Samples are taken from various stages of the food chain; in the Wadden Sea, these include algae, mussels, fish, and gulls. Human blood and urine samples are also collected. Students submit these samples at four locations across Germany. The samples are analyzed and then stored in deep-freeze containers.
During the four-day exchange, the researchers also presented their scientific posters and gave short and plenary lectures in the lecture halls of THM. Topics included soil pollutants, atmospheric chemistry, and environmental monitoring. Prizes were awarded to the three best poster presentations and short lectures.
SETAC is a global scientific society primarily concerned with the fields of ecotoxicology (the effects of substances on the living environment) and environmental chemistry. Ten years ago, the society's last conference in the German-speaking world took place at Justus Liebig University Giessen (JLU). This year, it was Giessen turn again, as scheduled. THMProfessor Dr. Harald Platen, a member of SETAC and the conference organizing team, brought the meeting to the university.