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LABORATORY PROFILE Just a t r a c e Born out of necessity in the bowels of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC.), the facility mat is now IlldlioUldl J\CbearCll WIgalllaaLlUIl s
v^oiivi~v Centre for /\Qvanced /analytical Chemistry (CAAC) has survived ZO years of bureaucratic change and is today a world leader in analyzing heavy metal speciation at ultratrace concentrations in the aquatic environment. According to Graeme Batley, who has been with the Centre since the beginning but became its leader in 1990, the lab was originally part of AAEC s Chemical Technology Division. Its involvement in environmental trace analysis had its beginning with a proposed, never-to-be built, nuclear power station in Jervis Bay. "They [AAEC] wanted to know what the trace metal content in seawater was where they were going to site the reactor, so that they could determine whether the operations would have any impact," he recently recalled. In 1981, following a reorganization of the AAEC, the analytical laboratory was transferred to CSIRO. Functioning within the Division of Energy Chemistry, it was given its current name in 1990 to more closely reflect its activities. By the time Batley assumed responsibility, the laboratory had a strong multielement analytical capability under Les Dale, which included using a range of spectroscopic techniques. It had also expanded into trace organic analysis. The focus on metal speciation and detection at low concentrations continued, and algal bioassays were added to complement chemical measurements of metal bioavailability. Batley is proud of many of CAAC's achievements. One is its role in the
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1988 banning of tributyltin (TBT) in antifouling paint for small boats. CAAC, in cooperation with the University of Sydney, demonstrated that TBT was responsible for the decline of the oyster industry in the Georges River. They found that TBT had a synergistic effect on the uptake of copper by oysters by stimulating the formation of copper-binding proteins. Two years after the ban, copper and TBT concentrations in oysters had both dropped and the oyster industry revived. Other achievements include the development by Ralph Matthews of ANATOC, an instrument for measuring dissolved organic carbon based on photocatalytic decomposition to carbon dioxide in waters. In 1995, CAAC developed a standard reference sewage sludge for the utility company Sydney Water. A year later, in studies of contaminated sediments, they used "in situ dialysis samplers" (peepers) as part of CSIRO's Coastal Zone Program. This has led to a major research program studying metal behavior in contaminated sediments. At the same time, the biological toxicity studies have been expanded. Under Jenny Stauber's leadership, more rapid and sensitive algal and bacterial bioassays have been developed. Batley says that with these bioassays and the speciation capability, CAAC is in a perfect position to push the boundaries of environmental metal studies. "We are trying to complement our chemical methods with biological measurements," he says. "We are developing techniques to measure the fraction of metals that 3.re bioavciilable find W6 validate these measuring the toxic response of the organisms " CAAC's activities in recent years have included the massive mining ventures in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. "Largely through the efforts of Simon Apte, our techniques have enabled measurement of the bioavailable fraction of the total copper entering rivers from mine-tailings, as well as studying mercury speciation at part-pertrillion concentrations," Batley told Analytical Chemistry. CCAA technology was also applied to measuring ultratrace metal concentrations in seawater off the eastern Australian coast, and to the study of trace element distributions in Australian coals. Perhaps the most exciting venture for Batley is the opportunity to be involved in drawing up the latest, speciation-based
Analytical Chemistry News & Features, August 1, 1998
It's a day at the beach for CAAC researchers.
water quality guidelines for Australia and New Zealand. "This includes the introduction of our first sediment guidelines, which take a risk-based approach to regulation, based on speciation," Batley says. "It's a more realistic approach, a responsible solution to managing pollution, which doesn't rely on arbitrarily choosing a number above which the sky falls in and below which everybody is safe. The cost penalty for industry to get to a safe concentration is huge, so you have to be careful thst you can scientifically justify why V011 3T"P setting that level." These guidelines have been published for comment and are expected to be adopted by the end of this During the past 10 years, the Centre has had to adapt to a total culture change within the CSIRO, from supporting industry for very little remuneration to operating in a corporate, business environment. Today's CAAC is a far cry from the analytical group in the old AAEC. More than 30 full-time staff do most of the contract work, while post-docs and other students from local universities, as well as international visiting scholars, participate in the bulk of basic research. Batley says the CAAC's past record ensures they do not have to chase work. Customers include Australia's major mining companies, electricity generators, and water companies. Internationally, CAAC has also made its mark. Canada and the United States are watching interested in how the new water quality and sediment guidelines will work What next? Batley says CAAC will always aim to push the limits "It is very important to keep one step ahead of everyone else " he says Elizabeth Ban
