Purpose of Pollutants and Society
While chemicals are essential today, they are also difficult to control within global and circular material flows. The profile area, Pollutants and Society, brings together research to understand and reduce chemical risks in society.
Modern societies rely on chemicals for innovation, economic development and everyday convenience. At the same time, the growing circulation of materials, driven by globalisation, technological development and the transition to a circular economy, has made it increasingly difficult to control which chemicals move through industrial systems and ultimately reach people and the environment.
This profile area brings together research at Örebro University to develop knowledge and practical solutions for identifying, understanding, and reducing chemical risks embedded in society and in material flows.
A key objective is to understand the societal and economic drivers of chemical use. These include industrial networks, supply chains, and circular business models, which influence which chemicals are selected, how long they remain in circulation and how difficult they are to replace.
We can:
- Identify key points where safer alternatives and practices can be introduced by analysing correlations.
- Identify hazardous chemicals in industrial and circular material systems and investigate how these substances affect human health and ecosystems.
- Understand not only where hazardous substances are found but also why they are used and how they persist in products and recycled materials. We can do this by combining advanced chemical analysis with toxicological, social, and economic perspectives.
Close collaboration with industry stakeholders, policymakers and authorities is crucial to translate scientific findings into practical strategies and governance arrangements that support sustainable practices and place chemical safety at the centre.