From Cosmos (20/5/24)…
Australian research to assess impact of firefighting chemicals on aquatic ecosystems
Research is to get underway for the first time into the environmental impact of spraying fire fighting chemicals near waterways.
The researcher involved, Dr Chantal Lanctôt, says “surprisingly little” is known about the ecological impact of these chemicals.
Lanctôt has been awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Early Career Industry Fellowship to determine the ecological impacts of firefighting chemicals used to control wildfires.
On 6 May the ARC announced 50 new early career research projects to receive a total of $22.5 million (USD$15m) in research funding.
Lanctôt, a Griffith University ecotoxicologist based on the Gold Coast in Queensland, is to receive almost $500,000 (USD$334,000) to provide scientific evidence to manage the safe use of firefighting chemicals around water catchments.
“The project will assess the ecological impact of chemicals used to fight bushfires in Australia – this will include a range of commonly used retardants, water enhancers and foams,” Lanctôt told Cosmos.
“There is currently little information on the ecological impacts of these chemicals.”
