A symposium at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) from 27 to 30 October provided a platform for scientists to discuss and exchange information on the most recent findings, innovative theories, frameworks, and methodologies in persistent toxic substances (PTS) research.

 

The International Symposium on Persistent Toxic Substances has been held since 2004, and this year’s event was co-organised by CityU’s State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution (SKLMP), CityU’s Department of Biology and Chemistry, the State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology (SKLECE), Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (RCEES), Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the State Key Laboratory of Environmental and Biological Analysis.

 

Professor Gary Feng Gang, CityU’s Acting Provost, and Professor Paul Lam Kwan-sing, CityU’s Chief-of-staff and Director of SKLMP, gave welcoming addresses on 28 October at the opening ceremony. Professor Jiang Guibin, Director of SKLECE and RCEES, gave an opening speech on the same event.

 

The symposium covered interdisciplinary topics of significance, ranging from analytical chemistry and the characterisation of PTS to environmental and eco-toxicology, with a focus on the following themes: sources and fate of PTS, toxicology of PTS, emerging PTS of concern, risk assessment of PTS, mitigation and remediation of PTS, and analytical and bioanalytical methods.