English
SlovenčinaDepartment of environmental engineering, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Technologies, Department of Fire Protection
Research area 10. Environmental science and ecology
Science field: 4.3.2. Environmental engineering
Annotation (main research focus):
New pollutants are emerging in the environment, the toxicity, occurrence and characteristics of which are insufficiently investigated compared to already known substances. These substances are collectively called "Contaminants of Emerging Concern - CEC". The substances have a potential or already confirmed impact with the possibility of endangering human health and the environment. These substances include persistent organic pollutants, pesticides, herbicides and other biocidal products, flame retardants, e.g. based on polybrominated compounds, preservatives and other products used not only in the food industry, but also pharmaceutical products and personal care products. These substances have attracted worldwide attention due to their high toxic effect, very low degradation, long-term effect and widespread distribution in the environment. Detecting their presence currently brings new challenges in the field of pollution control in all components of the environment. A special group of these substances consists of preparations and products that can be collectively called "Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products - PPCP's". These are new and modern specific polluting substances that have been entering the environment in recent decades. These include medicines, nutritional supplements, cleaning products, and cosmetics.
The research team has been dealing with the issue of determining the effects of PPCP´s on the aquatic environment for a long time. Given the high toxicity of such pollutants, the research team will focus on monitoring emergent pollutants in the aquatic environment. The team of experts consists of experienced individuals who can identify specific substances representing a pollutant, its biodegradability in the aquatic environment, ecotoxicological properties and effects through aquatic microcosms. The research team is able to comprehensively evaluate the effects of pollutants on the aquatic environment. The research team is composed of workers who have highly professional experience and will participate in a comprehensive solution to the given issue: determination of physicochemical indicators and ecotoxicity, including a study using microcosms - Hybská and Mordáčová; determination of biodegradability - Samešová and Poništ; forensic analysis of samples using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) – Veľková and Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME-GC-MS) – Bubeníková and EIA/SEA/HIA assessment methods - Belčáková. The research results will be applicable for scientific purposes, but also applicable for practice in the field of water purification and biomonitoring of surface waters.
Reasons why your team is considered excellent
The team members are renowned scientists in the field, both domestically and abroad. The WOS database (Web of Science Core Collection) records a total of 137 publication outputs with 898 registered responses without self-citations. The team's H-index is 15 (30.10.2025). The members are responsible researchers or co-researchers of projects funded primarily by domestic (APVV; VEGA; KEGA; OP Research and Innovation EnviHealth, UNIVNET) grant agencies. In several projects, the addressed issues touch on the focus of the research team, e.g. Hybská is a successful researcher of the VEGA project on the topic: "Evaluation methods of emergent pollutants by means of microcosms" and others. The members are also reviewers of projects and contributions to important domestic and foreign scientific and scientific-professional journals. Team members regularly participate in domestic and foreign scientific conferences. Team leader Hybská (number of WOS papers - 23, number of citations 69, H-index 5), Belčáková (37/294/9), Samešová (32/79/5), Bubeníková (21/342/9), Veľková (11/122/4), Poništ (19/50/4) and Mordáčová (11/23/3). In the area of the team's thematic focus, members supervise final theses (bachelor's, diploma and doctoral theses - a total of 16 doctoral students have completed and 4 are in preparation). Research findings are used in scientific publications, textbooks, but also mostly in the teaching of relevant study subjects in the study program Forensic and Criminalistic Environmental Science.