ALARM - Luftburet globalt varningssystem för persistenta mobila organiska föroreningar

Persistent anthropogenic contaminants started spreading globally through the atmosphere in the 1940s, and these legacy substances continue to pose toxic threats to humans and wildlife.

Despite these lessons, most chemicals in commerce today have never been tested for persistence, nor been monitored in the environment.

As a result, new persistent mobile organic contaminants (PMOCs) are now being discovered spreading in the atmosphere, leading to widespread contamination of water resources. These issues are acknowledged by the European Commission as barriers to implementing the Zero Pollution Action Plan.

To confront these challenges proactively, the ALARM project establishes and validates an Airborne gLobal eArly waRning systeM for PMOCs.

This international collaboration involves deploying new silicone-foam passive air samplers at strategic global sites on all continents, including in megacities and remote regions of both hemispheres.

Using powerful analytical workflows based on non-target mass spectrometry, open science software and FAIR data infrastructure, we will search the global atmosphere for emerging PMOCs and create a living data resource for end-users and stakeholders.

The atmosphere is a major vector for rapid long-range transport of hazardous chemicals, and the systematic screening of PMOCs in global air will benefit society by early identification of emerging risks, thereby empowering sustainable chemical policy and regulation before PMOCs distribute globally.