Public Health Institute Maribor

The Public Health Institute Maribor (PHI) is a regional institute of social medicine, hygiene, infectious diseases and environmental health. The institute implements the national programme of preventive health care and environmental programme and takes part in conducting research into public health and environmental issues. In coordination with the National Institute of Public Health, the institute carries out tasks for the Ministry of Health as well as for Ministry of defence, Ministry for Science and Technology, Ministry of Environmental and Spatial Planning, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food and the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

The Environmental Protection Institute (EPI) is one of the centers of PHI. It is authorised by Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning for waste water monitoring, noise monitoring, air emission monitoring, monitoring of soil pollution, waste monitoring, ground water monitoring, environmental impact assesments. Activities of EPI comprise beside others laboratory experiments (chemical analysis and ecotoxicity testing), biotechnology, risk assessment of chemicals and standard setting. EPI is registered as a research unit under the Nr. 337-01 and has been accredited by Slovenian Accreditation since 04.12.2001. It is one of the best equipped institutions for environmental measurements in Slovenia. EPI will contribute to CADASTER WP 1, 2, and 5. Apart from acting as WP leader of WP2, and the organisation of a workshop specifically aimed at assisting National Chemical Authorities and risk assessors in Eastern European countries in the implementation of REACH (WP5), PHI will contribute mostly to the generation of missing experimental fate and effect data. Specific activities include the generation of missing fate and effects data as based on the data evaluation and validation in WP3; In vitro acute and chronic aquatic toxicity test results, data on bioaccumulation as well as chemically activated luciferase expression tests results, in vivo testing on acute and chronic effect on bacteria, daphnids, algae, terrestrial copepods, and STP microorganisms and biodegradation. All tests will be accompanied with quantitative chemical analyses.

The research team will be headed by Dr. Mojca Kos Durjava and Boris Kolar, and will include experts from the Environmental Protection Institute, one of the PHI centres. Dr. Mojca Kos Durjava - PHI/EPI, researcher; Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry, University of Ljubljana, SI, 2006. Professional experience – inorganic analysis, water analysis, research work in the field of environmental chemistry and ecotoxicology. A list of publications is available at http://izum.izum.si/bibliografije/Y20070427124452-21878.html.

Boris Kolar - PHI/EPI Head of the Center for Risk Assessment of Chemicals with Laboratory for Ecotoxico­logy; professional experience- ecotoxicological studies, risk assessment of chemicals. List of publications is available at http://izum.izum.si/bibliografije/Y20070424135935-12325.html.
Vlado Kučan - PHI/EPI, Head of Laboratory for analysis of organic substances
Darinka Steinbacher - PHI/EPI, analytic researcher, Bogdana Jeretin- PHI/EPI, analytic researcher,
Mag.Emil Žerjal- PHI/EPI, Head of Laboratory of environmental technologies

Durjava, M. 2003. Setting integrated environmental risk limits. In: Avran, Zeynep (ed.). Abstracts: 21st international symposium on toxicity assessment, 1-6 June 2003, Vilnius, Lithuania.

Kos Durjava, M., ter Laak, T.L., Hermens, J.L..M., Struijs, J., 2007. Distribution of PAHs and PCBs to dissolved organic matter: high distribution coefficients with consequences for environmental fate modeling. Chemosphere 67, 990-997.

Persoone, G., Kolar, B., 2003. A practical and user-friendly toxicity classification system with microbiotests for natural waters and wastewaters. Environ. Toxicol. Chem., 18, 395-402.

Royal Haskoning, RIVM, Grontmij/Aquasense, PHI. 2004-2006. Environmental Standards: setting the risk limits for water and sediments in the case of the Drava River. NL/SLO project.

Ter Laak, T.L., Durjava,M., Struijs,J., Hermens,J.L..M., 2005. Solid Phase Dosing and Sampling Technique to Determine Partition Coefficients of Hydrophobic Chemicals in Complex Matrixes. Environ. Sci. Technol. 39, 3736-3742.

http://www.zzv-mb.si/