FACULTY OF SCIENCE

SCHOOL OF CHEMISTRY

CHEM3901

ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY

SESSION 2 2014

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Table of Contents

1. Information about the Course ................................................................................................... 2 2. Staff Involved in the Course ...................................................................................................... 2 3. Course Details .......................................................................................................................... 3 4. Rationale and Strategies Underpinning the Course ................................................................. 6 5. Course Schedule ..................................................................................................................... 7 6. Assessment Tasks and Feedback ............................................................................................ 8 7. Additional Resources and Support ........................................................................................... 9 8. Required Equipment, Training and Enabling Skills ................................................................... 9 9. Course Evaluation and Development ..................................................................................... 10 10. Administration Matters .......................................................................................................... 11 10. UNSW Academic Honesty and Plagiarism ........................................................................... 12

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Faculty of Science - Course Outline

1. Information about the Course NB: Some of this information is available on the UNSW Virtual Handbook1

Year of Delivery 2014 Course Code CHEM3901 Course Name Environmental Toxicology Academic Unit School of Chemistry Level of Course Stage 3 course Units of Credit 6 Units of Credit Session(s) Offered Session 2 Assumed Knowledge, Prerequisites or Co-requisites

Prerequisite: CHEM1011 or CHEM1031

Hours per Week 6 contact hours per week Number of Weeks 12 weeks Commencement Date Week 1 (Lectures) Week 2 (Laboratory) Summary of Course Structure (for details see 'Course Schedule') Component HPW Time Day Location Lectures 3 Lecture 1 1 – 2 pm Tuesday Elec Eng224 Lecture 2 12 – 1 pm Wednesday Elec Eng224 Lecture 3 1 – 2 pm Thursday Elec Eng224 Laboratory 3

Lab – Option 1 OR Option 2 9 am – 12 pm OR 2 – 5 pm Tuesday Chemical Sciences 162

TOTAL 6

Special Details Laboratory starts in week 2. All students complete the same experiments in the first four weeks, then complete experiments according to a roster system that will be made available during the lab.

2. Staff Involved in the Course

Staff Role Name Contact Details Consultation Times

Course Convenor Dr Graham Ball Location: Room 129 Dalton building e-mail: g.ball@unsw.edu.au Ph: 02 9385 4720

Additional Teaching Staff

Lecturers Dr Graham Ball Location: Room 129 Dalton building e-mail: g.ball@unsw.edu.au Ph: 02 9385 4720

Consultations can be arranged by e-mailing the lecturing staff.

Dr Leigh Aldous Location: Room 132 Dalton building e-mail: l.aldous@unsw.edu.au Ph: 02 9385 4752

Dr Gavin Edwards

Location: Dalton room 106 e-mail: g.edwards@unsw.edu.au Ph: 02 9385 4652

Dr Marcus Cole Location: Dalton room 223 e-mail: m.cole@unsw.edu.au Ph: 02 9385 4678

Demonstrator in charge

Dr L. Aldous A/Prof J. Stride Dr Ron Haines A/Prof Steve Colbran

l.aldous@unsw.edu.au j.stride@unsw.edu.au r.haines@unsw.edu.au s.colbran@unsw.edu.au

Laboratory Manager

Dr Toby Jackson

Location: Room 136, Chemical Sciences building e-mail: toby.jackson@unsw.edu.au Ph: 02 9385 6634

Support Staff To be advised

1 UNSW Virtual Handbook: http://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/2014/index.html

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3. Course Details

Course Description2 (Handbook Entry)

Classification and properties of toxic substances. Biological properties of important classes of chemical compounds. Fate of xenobiotics in the human body, including detoxification and bioactivation. Chemical transformations of pollutants in the environment; air, water and soil pollution. Analysis of environmental pollutants at trace levels.

Course Aims3 Environmental toxicology is concerned with the toxicological effects of environmental chemicals

(both natural and anthropogenic) on living organisms. This course is an introduction to the field of environmental toxicology.

It aims to provide fundamental knowledge on major classes of chemicals of environmental concern; the properties of these chemicals; how they are released and transported in the environment; how they interact with living systems to cause a toxic response.

It also aims to provide some understanding of how toxic chemicals can be detected and quantified in the environment; how toxic responses can be measured and how chemical and toxicological data can be combined to enable better risk assessment and environmental management decision making.

Student Learning Outcomes4

At the end of this course you should be able to:

• describe the chemical properties and environmental fate of important classes of organic compounds (e.g. pesticides, aromatic hydrocarbons) and inorganic compounds (e.g. heavy metals, organometallic compounds)

• describe the chemistry of the environmentally important gases in the atmosphere

• describe the effects of anthropogenic chemicals on the chemistry of the troposphere and stratosphere and relate this knowledge to the understanding of major atmospheric pollution issues, namely ozone depletion, the greenhouse effect and photochemical smog.

• explain the main mechanisms of action of representative examples of environmental toxicants in causing a toxic response in living organisms.

• describe the basic dose-response relationship in toxicology and the main parameters derived from it (e.g. LD50, NOEL)

• give examples of how synergistic and antagonistic effects can influence the toxic response to mixtures of chemicals in the environment.

• explain how representative examples of environmental toxicants can be experimentally detected and quantified in complex environmental samples.

• discuss the main factors affecting the quality of chemical analysis data for environmental systems, including issues affecting accuracy, uncertainty and detection limits in analytical methods.

• propose methods of analysis for representative examples of environmental toxicants, based on a combination of practical experience and general principles learned in the course.

• discuss the applicability of chemical analysis and toxicity data, both individually and together, in risk assessment and environmental monitoring.

Graduate Attributes Developed in this Course5 Science Graduate Attributes5 (maybe replaced by UNSW, School or professional attributes)

Select the level of

FOCUS 0 = NO FOCUS 1 = MINIMAL 2 = MINOR 3 = MAJOR

Activities / Assessment

Research, inquiry and analytical thinking abilities

3 Laboratory course. / Group assignment / Assessment of practical reports

and group project

2 UNSW Virtual Handbook: http://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/2014/index.html 3 Learning and Teaching @ UNSW: http://learningandteaching.unsw.edu.au/ 4 Learning and Teaching @ UNSW– Learning Outcomes: http://learningandteaching.unsw.edu.au/content/lt/course_prog_support/outcomes.cfm?ss=2 5 Access the contextualised Science Graduate Attributes and your mapped courses: http://www2.science.unsw.edu.au/guide/slatig/sciga.html#ScienceGraduateAttributes

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Capability and motivation for intellectual development

2

Lectures and applied problems discussed in class. / Multi-part laboratory exercises / Exam.

Ethical, social and professional understanding

2

Developed throughout the course, especially in the laboratory and group assignment settings where scientific ethics are reinforced / Exam and lab

assessments

Communication

3 Write up of practicals. / group assignment including presentation of findings

to the class / Assessment of practical reports and group assignment

Teamwork, collaborative and management skills

3 Laboratory course where experiments are often carried out in teams; group

assignment. / Assessment of practical reports and group assignment

Information literacy

2 Group assignment involves students researching a topic related to environmental toxicology or environmental chemistry

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Major Topics (Syllabus Outline)

A. Introduction to Toxicology Topics covered will include: Introduction to Toxicology Definitions of Environmental Toxicology Examples of introduced (“anthropogenic”) poisons Examples of “natural” poisons Definitions of “toxic effects” – acute versus systemic; animal testing Quantification of toxicity – LD50 and rating systems Threshold Limit Values Epidemiology Carcinogens, mutagens and teratogens Sensitisers Risk management and acceptable daily intakes (ADI) Routes of absorption Fates of absorbed toxins B. Organic Chemistry & Toxicology The discussion of organic toxic substances will concentrate on classification by functional group, and topics will include toxic effects and metabolism. Hydrocarbons: Alkanes, alkenes and alkynes (incl. petroleum products) Aromatic hydrocarbons: simple aromatic compounds, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons Nitrogen containing compounds – simple amines (incl. naturally-occurring toxins such as alkaloids) and aromatic amines Halogenated Hydrocarbons and pesticides and herbicides Oxygenated hydrocarbons (alcohols, carbonyl compounds and acids) C. Inorganic Chemistry & Toxicology - Environmental Toxicology of heavy metals: Introduction and outline Mercury: toxic episodes; relevant chemistry Key issues for the environmental toxicology of heavy metals; relevant chemical properties Bio-accumulation The elements in mammals: essentiality and toxicity Transport and mobility of metals: compounds soluble and insoluble in water: solubilisation and precipitation reactions; ligands and metal complexation; metal speciation Organometallic compounds Tin and lead Natural detoxification processes Cadmium Chemical and biochemical mimicry D. Atmospheric Chemistry and Pollution Structure and composition of the atmosphere; Material balances in the atmosphere - natural and anthropogenic. Acid rain. Radiation and the atmosphere. Ozone layer. Ozone balance Ozone holes Photochemical smog Nitrogen oxides and photochemical smog. Oxidation of hydrocarbons E. Experimental aspects of environmental analysis and toxicology Topics will be chosen from: Topic 1 Overview of experimental component of the course. Toxicity testing and chemical analysis. Water quality testing; water quality indicators including dissolved oxygen, conductivity and alkalinity. Sections on dissolved oxygen; acid-base chemistry and alkalinity; ion concentrations in waters; water hardness. Topic 2 Introduction to analytical techniques based on spectroscopy. UV-visible spectroscopy for environmental analysis. Determination of anions (eg nitrate, phosphate) and cations using UV-visible methods. Introduction to infra-red spectroscopy. Section on nitrates and nitrites. Topic 3 Elemental analysis using atomic absorption and emission spectroscopic techniques. Quantitative analysis of metals in environmental samples; methods for toxic elements including Cr, Pb, Cd and Hg. Section on ICP-AES Determination of lead Topic 4 Organic analysis. Chromatography in environmental analysis. Gas chromatography (GC). High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Mass spectrometry in environmental analysis. Ion chromatography for inorganic anions.

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Section on Determination of methane (GC-FID) Section on the production of chloroform (and other trihalomethanes) in drinking water. Section on Electron Capture Detection of Pesticides Section on ion chromatography Topic 6 Introduction to speciation in environmental analysis; relationship with toxicity testing. (includes background on speciation of Hg, Pb, Cd, As, Sn) Topic 7 Environmental toxicity testing. Integrated chemical analysis and toxicity testing protocols.

Relationship to Other Courses within the Program

This course is a core course of the Bachelor of Environmental Science (program 3988) where it is listed as a Stage 3 requirement. Students in other programs (e.g., program 3970 BSc or program 3972 BSc(Adv)) are also able to take this course as an environmental-based chemistry course.

4. Rationale and Strategies Underpinning the Course

Teaching Strategies

Lectures will be used as the basis of the course to provide much of the basic factual material in this course. Illustrative examples will be used throughout, and relevant problems will be solved where appropriate. Laboratory exercises have been chosen to illustrate several aspects of environmental monitoring and toxicology, the material, with an emphasis on practical applications. Students complete a group assignment in teams where they work on a topic of environmental relevance and then present their work to the class – this exercise is designed to foster group work, and actively involve students more closely in the learning process.

Rationale for learning and teaching in this course6,

As a final year Chemistry course for the Environmental Science program this course aims to present some complex concepts to students who have a broad range of abilities across the environmental studies spectrum. It not only builds upon their knowledge from CHEM1011/1031, but also introduces much new material. As such, this content-rich course needs a substantial content-delivery format through lectures, which incorporate examples and solved problems where appropriate. The laboratory also increases a student’s hands-on experience with common laboratory analytical processes.

6 Learning & Teaching Strategy: http://www.learningandteaching.unsw.edu.au/content/about_us/strategy.cfm?ss=1

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5. Course Schedule Some of this information is available on the Virtual Handbook7 and the UNSW Timetable8.

Week Tues 1-2pm Elec Eng 224

Weds 12-1pm Elec Eng 224

Thurs 1-2pm Elec Eng 224

Laboratory Tuesday 9-12 OR Tuesday 2-5pm

Assignment and Submission dates (see also 'Assessment Tasks & Feedback')

1 Dr. G. Ball Dr. G. Ball Dr. L. Aldous No lab

2 Dr. G. Ball Dr. G. Ball Dr. L. Aldous Water Analysis 1

3 Dr. G. Ball Dr. G. Ball Dr. L. Aldous Water Analysis 2 Tox. Testing 1

4 Dr. G. Ball Dr. G. Ball Dr. L. Aldous Water Analysis 3 Tox. Testing 2

5 A/Prof M.Cole A/Prof M.Cole Dr. L. Aldous Tox. Testing 3 Water analysis report due

6 A/Prof M.Cole A/Prof M.Cole Dr. L. Aldous Rostered experiments

7 A/Prof M.Cole A/Prof M.Cole Dr. L. Aldous Rostered experiments Tox. Testing report due

8 A/Prof M.Cole A/Prof M.Cole Mid session test (TBC) Rostered experiments Lab report due

9 Dr. G. Edwards Dr. G. Edwards Dr. L. Aldous Rostered experiments Lab report due

Break - No classes week starting September 30

10 Dr. G. Edwards Dr. G. Edwards Dr. L. Aldous Rostered experiments Lab report due

11 Dr. G. Edwards Dr. G. Edwards Dr. L. Aldous Rostered experiments Lab report due

12 Dr. G. Edwards Dr. L. Aldous Dr. L. Aldous Rostered experiments Lab report due

13 Dr. L. Aldous (TBC) No lecture No lecture Rostered experiments Lab report due

Topics: Introduction to Toxicology Dr. Graham Ball Organic Chemistry & Toxicology Dr. Gavin Edwards Inorganic Chemistry & Toxicology A/Prof Marcus Cole Atmospheric Chemistry and Pollution Dr Leigh Aldous Experimental aspects of environmental analysis and toxicology Dr Leigh Aldous

*NB: As stated in the UNSW Assessment Policy: ‘one or more tasks should be set, submitted, marked and returned to students by the mid-point of a course, or no later than the end of Week 6 of a 12-week session'

7 UNSW Virtual Handbook: http://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/2014/index.html 8 UNSW Timetable: http://www.timetable.unsw.edu.au/

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6. Assessment Tasks and Feedback

Task

Knowledge & abilities

assessed

Assessment Criteria

% of total mark

Date of

Feedback

Release

Submission

WHO

WHEN

HOW

Practical reports

Understanding of methods of analysis, and environmental effects

Clarity of presentation, understanding of the experiment, student’s own results. A minimum 80% attendance and submission of laboratory work is also required.

40 1-2 weeks after completion of experiment

Report assessor

Within 2 weeks of submission

Annotated reports returned to students

Mid session test

Understanding of key theoretical concepts presented in the course to date

Answers to questions given correctly.

10 Thursday 18 Sept

Course convenor

Within 2 weeks

Marked test papers

Final examination

Understanding of key theoretical and practical concepts presented throughout the course

Answers to questions given correctly. Discussion shows knowledge and understanding of the course. Students must get at least 40% of the available marks in final exam to pass the course. Failure to reach this mark will result in an unsatisfactory fail.

50

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7. Additional Resources and Support

Text Books

No specific texts are required for this course.

Course Manual

A course manual will be available for download from Moodle

Required Readings

Additional Readings

A list of suggested readings is available in the Course Pack.

Recommended Internet Sites

Societies

Royal Australian Chemical Institute http://www.raci.org.au/ Students of Chemistry Society (UNSW) http://www.chem.unsw.edu.au/schoolinfo/socs.html

Computer Laboratories or Study Spaces

Laboratory – Chemical Sciences Building 162 Gibson Computer laboratory – Ground floor, Dalton Building

8. Required Equipment, Training and Enabling Skills

Equipment Required

Laboratory coat, safety spectacles, closed shoes, are required for ALL laboratories.

Enabling Skills Training Required to Complete this Course

OH&S briefing (to be given in the first laboratory class in week 2) Awareness of School & UNSW plagiarism guidelines

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9. Course Evaluation and Development

Student feedback is gathered periodically by various means. Such feedback is considered carefully with a view to acting on it constructively wherever possible. This course outline conveys how feedback has helped to shape and develop this course.

Mechanisms of Review

Last Review Date

Comments or Changes Resulting from Reviews

Major Course Review

2007 To accommodate the reduction from 14 weeks to 12 weeks, some of the introductory material will be shortened and some definitions will be provided as a handout. In the laboratory students will complete one less “rostered lab”.

CATEI9

2012

Overall, this was a well received course with an average student ranking above School and Faculty averages The major criticism concerned the fact that lectures often occurred after the labs. This is unavoidable to some extent but measures will be taken in 2014 to improve this situation.

Other

9 Science CATEI procedure: http://www2.science.unsw.edu.au/guide/slatig/catei.html#ScienceCATEIProtocol

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10. Administration Matters

Information about each of the following matters is best presented in a generic School handout or webpage. Reference should be made in every course handout to where the information can be found, and the importance of being familiar with the information.

Expectations of Students

Workload Contact hours are 6 per week, in most weeks. The major out-of-class workload is associated with the laboratory program and the group assignments. Students are expected to attend a MINIMUM of 80% of all classes.

Assignment Submissions

Laboratory exercises should be submitted to the Lab supervisor. Group assignments, in hard copy, should be submitted to Dr Edwards. Cover sheets can be downloaded from moodle. WARNING: Work may not be assessed if not accompanied by a signed cover sheet.

Occupational Health and Safety10

Information on relevant Occupational Health and Safety policies and expectations both at UNSW: http://www.hr.unsw.edu.au/ohswc/ohswc_home.html. For School of Chemistry OH&S policy and requirements see laboratory manual. To be admitted to a laboratory, you must wear safety glasses. It is no longer adequate to wear prescription glasses as they do not provide suitable protection. A lab coat and covered shoes (no thongs, open sandals or clogs) must also be worn. You MUST have read the laboratory exercise before beginning the experiment. Visitors are not allowed to undergraduate laboratories without the permission of the lab supervisor.

Assessment Procedures

Candidates for CHEM3901 must demonstrate a satisfactory performance in each of laboratory work, the group assignment, and the written examination. A mark of fifty percent is regarded as the minimum acceptable performance in the laboratory. Students who do not attain this mark in their laboratory work may not be awarded a pass in the subject irrespective of their performance in the examination. Laboratory reports, laboratory notebooks and satisfactory performance in the laboratory all contribute to the final laboratory mark.

Equity and Diversity

Those students who have a disability that requires some adjustment in their teaching or learning environment are encouraged to discuss their study needs with the course Convenor prior to, or at the commencement of, their course, or with the Equity Officer (Disability) in the Equity and Diversity Unit (9385 4734 or http://www.studentequity.unsw.edu.au/).

Grievance Policy11

School Contact

Faculty Contact

University Contact

Dr Gavin Edwards Director of Teaching g.edwards@unsw.edu.au Tel: 9385 4652

A/Prof Julian Cox Associate Dean (Education) julian.cox@unsw.edu.au Tel: 9385 8574

Graduate Research School Tel: 9385 2969 Compass University Counselling Services12 Tel: 9385 5418

10 UNSW Occupational Health and Safety: http://www.ohs.unsw.edu.au/ 11 UNSW Student Complain Policy: http://www.gs.unsw.edu.au/policy/documents/studentcomplaintpolicy.pdf 12 University Counselling Service http://www.counselling.unsw.edu.au/

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11. UNSW Academic Honesty and Plagiarism

What is Plagiarism? You should also read the relevant information in the Course Manual. Plagiarism is the presentation of the thoughts or work of another as one’s own. *Examples include: • direct duplication of the thoughts or work of another, including by copying material, ideas or concepts from a book,

article, report or other written document (whether published or unpublished), composition, artwork, design, drawing, circuitry, computer program or software, web site, Internet, other electronic resource, or another person’s assignment without appropriate acknowledgement;

• paraphrasing another person’s work with very minor changes keeping the meaning, form and/or progression of ideas of the original;

• piecing together sections of the work of others into a new whole; • presenting an assessment item as independent work when it has been produced in whole or part in collusion with other

people, for example, another student or a tutor; and • claiming credit for a proportion a work contributed to a group assessment item that is greater than that actually

contributed.† For the purposes of this policy, submitting an assessment item that has already been submitted for academic credit elsewhere may be considered plagiarism. Knowingly permitting your work to be copied by another student may also be considered to be plagiarism. Note that an assessment item produced in oral, not written, form, or involving live presentation, may similarly contain plagiarised material. The inclusion of the thoughts or work of another with attribution appropriate to the academic discipline does not amount to plagiarism. The Learning Centre website is main repository for resources for staff and students on plagiarism and academic honesty. These resources can be located via: www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism The Learning Centre also provides substantial educational written materials, workshops, and tutorials to aid students, for example, in: • correct referencing practices; • paraphrasing, summarising, essay writing, and time management; • appropriate use of, and attribution for, a range of materials including text, images, formulae and concepts. Individual assistance is available on request from The Learning Centre. Students are also reminded that careful time management is an important part of study and one of the identified causes of plagiarism is poor time management. Students should allow sufficient time for research, drafting, and the proper referencing of sources in preparing all assessment items. * Based on that proposed to the University of Newcastle by the St James Ethics Centre. Used with kind permission from the University of Newcastle † Adapted with kind permission from the University of Melbourne