Drew is a recent PhD graduate from the University of Melbourne, where he studied the fate, transport, and impact of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in Australian avifauna. In his research, PFASs were detected in juvenile Shearwaters from Lord Howe Island and numerous species of waterfowl from Tasmania intended for human consumption. Advances in the detection of PFASs in biological matrices were developed at the Australian Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants (ALEC), under the supervision of Dr Bradley Clarke. Drew has won the SETAC Australasia Postgraduate Research Publication Award in 2022 for his paper “Field-Based Distribution and Bioaccumulation Factors for Cyclic and Aliphatic Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in an Urban Sedentary Waterbird Population”.
In this study, they found elevated concentrations of PFASs in the area surrounding Albert Park, a popular reserve in the heart of Melbourne. In fact, the concentrations of PFASs detected there exceeded expectations for an area with limited exposure to legacy PFAS sources like fire-fighting foam, agricultural use, or wastewater discharge. They proposed that the use of the park to host events such as the Australian Grand Prix may be contributing to the source of PFAS to the ecosystem. The resident population of Black Swans were significantly impacted by the contaminated water and sediment in the lake, leading to some of the highest concentrations of PFASs detected in avian species, especially considering Albert Park would not normally be considered a high-risk area. A very useful conclusion in this study, was that the relationship between PFAS concentrations in the blood and excrement from Black Swans, potentially leading to a non-invasive biomonitoring methodology. Despite the unfortunate discovery of contamination in one of Melbourne’s favourite parks, the results of this study will help the stakeholders to address ecological health and beneficial uses of the area for future generations.
Szabo, D., Moodie, D., Green, M.P., Mulder, R.A. & Clarke, B.O. 2022. Field-Based Distribution and Bioaccumulation Factors for Cyclic and Aliphatic Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) in an Urban Sedentary Waterbird Population. Environmental Science & Technology, 56, 8231-8244. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c01965
Drew is now a Postdoctoral Researcher at Stockholm University, Sweden, continuing to advance novel workflows for the detection of emerging contaminants using machine learning based algorithms coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry. You can follow his work on Google Scholar, ORCID, and ResearchGate. You can contact Drew via email on drew.szabo@mmk.su.se to get free access to any of his published research.
