Chemistry
Our chemistry department is responsible for advising,
monitoring, assessing and reporting on the chemical state of
Scotland’s environment and the potential human health impacts that
may result. There are six units within chemistry, and these
are based across four SEPA offices (Edinburgh, East Kilbride,
Aberdeen and Dingwall).
Our staff deliver a chemical monitoring programme that
covers:
- fresh and marine waters
- sediments
- biota
- aqueous and atmospheric discharges
- ambient air
- soil
- a variety of waste materials.
We are also currently developing a noise pollution
monitoring programme, and advise on all aspects of
environmental chemistry - from the significance of a localised
chemical spillage to the implications of new legislation.
We are involved in a wide range of national and international
activities, including:
- Water Framework Directive(WFD)
- Oslo and Paris Commission (OSPAR)
- Dangerous Substance Directive
- Quality Assurance of Information for Marine Environmental
Monitoring in Europe (QUASIMEME)
- Environment Agency's Monitoring Certification
Scheme (MCERTS)
- Aquacheck
- Creative Environmental Networks (CEN)
- British Standards (BS)
- nanotechnology
- genomics
- endocrine disruption
- environmental standards.
Chemistry staff and expertise
There are 130 staff in chemistry, taking approximately 16,500
samples from 1,650 SEPA monitoring sites per year. Staff
are also involved in a range of other duties that help to
identify chemical pressures on Scotland's environment. Some
examples include:
- maintaining an awareness of SEPA's duties and influencing
legislative developments
- ensuring our monitoring and advice provision is robust,
targeted and relevant
- constantly reviewing and managing the monitoring network to
ensure that these legislative duties are met
- sampling a wide variety of environmental media around Scotland
(in conjunction with other departments) again in support of those
duties
- analysing those samples for a range of determinands and
fulfilling our reporting requirements (eg EU reporting, reporting
on compliance of licensed discharges, reporting on the chemical
state of Scotland’s environment)
- using this information to identify issues in the environment
and drive policy change ensuring real environmental improvements
are made.
Much of our work involves influencing others, such as dealing
with external agencies and working with universities to utilise
common expertise. It is also necessary to maintain an awareness of
new scientific developments and advances in technologies, so as to
better inform our policy staff of potential issues in the
future.
Inorganic chemistry unit
SEPA's three regional inorganic chemistry units (South East,
South West and North) are made up of 70 staff across four offices
(Edinburgh, East Kilbride, Aberdeen and Dingwall). Each of these
offices also has a chemistry laboratory, which is used to analyse a
range of determinands under its remit.
These units are responsible for monitoring, assessing, reporting
and providing advice on a wide range of inorganic determinands (eg
biochemical oxygen demand, ammonia, phosphorus) and trace metal
determinands (eg iron, cadmium, lead). It focuses largely on
monitoring determinands in the water media.
These determinands are often monitored at a high frequency as
they can be used to provide a quick and relatively inexpensive
means of determining general water quality. They can therefore be
used to quickly indicate if there has been recent pollution as a
result of particular activities, which is a very important factor
when identifying and dealing with pollution incidents.
Trace organic chemistry unit
This unit has 36 staff located across laboratories in East
Kilbride, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Again, this unit advises,
analyses, assesses and reports on an extensive range of
determinands, from pesticides applied to land to sheep dip
compounds to organic compounds found in ambient air. As a result of
the nature of the compounds analysed by this unit, it is necessary
to examine different media (eg sediments, biota and air in addition
to water).
Due to the highly specialised instrumentation and complex
analysis, the monitoring completed by this unit is more focused on
identified risks posed on the environment, rather than the more
widespread monitoring completed by the inorganic chemistry unit.
Therefore much of the work completed by this unit relates to action
plans (or targeted monitoring) focusing on localised issues.
Field chemistry unit
This unit is made up of 19 chemistry staff across laboratories
in East Kilbride, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dingwall. It is a
relatively new and developing team due to the nature of the work
for which it is responsible. Historically, the focus of monitoring
across Scotland and in other countries was on water. However, new
developments in legislation and agreements on a national and
international basis have resulted in more focus on the other media,
and this allows SEPA to develop a more holistic approach to its
monitoring programme by assessing impacts on all aspects of the
environment and how these different media interlink and impact on
another.
As a result, the unit provides advice, monitors, assesses and
reports on chemical issues impacting on Scotland's environment in
relation to the air and land (which includes soil, waste and
contaminated land). It also co-ordinates the monitoring
required to assess diffuse pollution and is developing a monitoring
programme for assessing impacts from noise pollution.
Environmental chemistry unit
This unit has eight staff working in East Kilbride and
Edinburgh. Their main role is to provide advice on the chemical
state of Scotland's environment. The unit is also SEPA's human
health lead for science, advising on the potential effects on human
health from chemical pressures and other environmental issues.
Under this broad remit, it is also involved in many new areas
such as developments in standards derivation for new legislation
(eg the Water Framework Directive), influencing and advising on
research and development projects (eg genomics, nanotechnology
etc), as well as working closely with Scottish universities and
other agencies to ensure that knowledge is shared on common areas
of expertise.