2009 Press Releases
02.10.2009
The UCC atmospheric simulation chamber run by Dr John Wenger and Dr Dean Venables (both of the Department of Chemistry and Environmental Research Institute) has recently become part of the EU-funded EUROCHAMP project.
The chamber is the only research facility of its kind in Ireland and is mainly used for investigating the atmospheric degradation of organic compounds that are responsible for the type of air pollution commonly known as “photochemical smog”.
The EUROCHAMP project includes 14 European institutes, each possessing custom-built chambers for studying atmospheric processes. With a budget of €5M, the project is an excellent means for fostering close collaboration between research groups with atmospheric chambers, an area in which Europe is a world leader. A key feature of EUROCHAMP is that it gives the wider scientific community access to the chambers.
This week, UCC welcomed its first visitor to the chamber facility under EUROCHAMP, Dr Cecile Coeur-Tourneur from Université du Littoral Côte D’Opale, France. Dr Coeur-Tourneur is performing experiments to determine the chemical composition of nanoparticles produced from aromatic hydrocarbons contained in automobile emissions. These airborne particles can be inhaled into the lungs, and information on their chemical composition will be useful in assessing their risk to human health.
The UCC chamber has 30 days of “open access” per year and is expected to welcome a total of 12 different research groups over the 4 year duration of the EUROCHAMP project.
Picture shows: Dr John Wenger, Dr Dean Venables, Dr Ivan Kourtchev and (seated) Dr Cecile Coeur-Tourneur.
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