Below are a few thought-starter questions around the material in the module. You may want to talk through these questions with friends, colleagues and your lecturers:
At the start of his lecture, Alistair Boxall introduced four chemicals: naphthalene, diclofenac, fluoxetine and a PCB. What are the key physico-chemical and fate properties of these chemicals and how do you think they might differ in terms of their behaviour in the environment?
Will degradation processes completely remove a chemical from the environment?
Would the chemical industry and society be more or less sustainable if all chemicals were readily or rapidly biodegradable?
What parameters would you adjust in a chemical fate model to estimate chemical exposure 50 years from now?
In the event of a pesticide environmental risk assessment demonstrating a potential risk to wild organisms at the lower tier, what higher tier approaches could be useful in refining the risk assessment? Consider testing and non-testing options, as well as risk mitigation measures.
Under what circumstances would you consider it appropriate for a derogation of a biocidal product to be granted?
How should environmental pollution be weighed against human access to medicines?
How would you define a non-toxic environment and how would you know whether it had been achieved?