Department of
Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics

Environmental Chemistry, Risk Assessment and Sustainability

The Lab’s research activities focus on:

  • Study as well as physical-chemical and environmental characterization of priority and emerging contaminants, nutrients and nanomaterials, and of the processes determining their partitioning and transformation in different environmental matrices, ultimately influencing their (eco)toxicity;
  • Development and experimental validation of fate and transport models of contaminants in the environment, including also bioaccumulation processes along the trophic chain;
  • Environmental impact assessment along the life cycle of products and processes by e.g. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and in general assessment of environmental and integrated sustainability;
  • Environmental (ecological and human health) risk assessment for exposure to contaminants, nutrients and nanomaterials, and related risk management and governance;
  • Impact assessment of climate change on bio-geo-chemical cycles of organic and inorganic contaminants.
Research group

Collaborators:

  • Cagnato Clarissa (Postdoc Marie Curie)
  • Calore Francesco (Postdoc)
  • Longo Laura (Postdoc)
  • Sano Marcello (Postdoc Marie Curie)
  • Furlan Elisa (Adjunct Professor)
  • Gottardo Stefania (External Collaborator)
  • Maraschini Margherita (External Collaborator)
  • Zennaro Federica (External Collaborator)
  • Bettiol Cinzia (Lab Technologist)
  • Bonetto Alessandro (Lab Technologist)
  • Allegri Elena (PhD Student)
  • Asrat Tekle Asresu (PhD Student)
  • Canaletti Vanessa (PhD Student)
  • Dal Barco Maria Katherina (PhD Student)
  • Devecchi Sara (PhD Student)
  • Ferrario Davide (PhD Student)
  • Guolo Pier Paolo (PhD Student)
  • Harris Remi (PhD Student)
  • Horneman Fabienne Regina Francina (PhD Student)
  • Labella Fonseca Heloisa (PhD Student)
  • Livieri Arianna (PhD Student)
  • Menegaldo Martina (PhD Student)
  • Moftakhari Anasori Movahed Saman (PhD Student)
  • Ngoc Diep Nguyen (PhD Student)
  • Ozkiper Ozan (PhD Student)
  • Rufo Olinda Jack Mariano (PhD Student)
  • Sellitri Antonio (PhD Student)
  • Simeoni Christian (PhD Student)
  • Vogt Mathilda (PhD Student)
  • Carisi Matteo (Subject Expert)
  • Giubilato Elisa (Subject Expert)
  • Hristozov Danail (Subject Expert)
  • Pizzol Lisa (Subject Expert)
  • Rosada Fabio (Subject Expert)
  • Torresan Silvia (Subject Expert)
  • Zabeo Alex (Subject Expert)

Website: http://www.ecraunit.com

Collaborations

The Lab has several (>50) collaborations with institutes and other universities in the frame of both international and national/local research projects.
As an example, the following are institutes and universities collaborating with the Lab from decades:

Publications

  • Brunelli, A., Serrano-Lotina, A., Bañares, M.A., Alcolea-Rodriguez, V., Blosi, M., Costa, A., Ortelli, S., Peijnenburg, W., Fito, C., Fernandez, E.G., Hermosilla, J.S., Soeteman-Hernández, L.G., Garmendia Aguirre, I., Rauscher, H., Murphy, F., Stone, V., Balbuena, J., Cormano, J.M.L., Pizzol, L., Hristozov, D., Marcomini, A., Badetti, E., 2025. Safe-by-design assessment of an SiO 2 @ZnO multi-component nanomaterial used in construction. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: NANO, 12, 762–776. doi.org/10.1039/D4EN00352G
  • Zervakis, V., Kolovoyiannis, V., Calgaro, L., Giubilato, E., Marcomini, A., Mazioti, A.-A., Ferrarin, C., Majamäki, E., Potiris, M., Krasakopoulou, E., Tragou, E., Kukkonen, J., Jalkanen, J.-P., 2025. A novel method to assess the dilution of complex mixtures in the marine environment: Application to marine scrubber water effluents. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN, 216, 117956. doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2025.117956
  • Hristozov, D., Badetti, E., Bigini, P., Brunelli, A., Dekkers, S., Diomede, L., Doak, S.H., Fransman, W., Gajewicz-Skretna, A., Giubilato, E., Gómez-Cuadrado, L., Grafström, R., Gutleb, A.C., Halappanavar, S., Hischier, R., Hunt, N., Katsumiti, A., Kermanizadeh, A., Marcomini, A., Moschini, E., Oomen, A., Pizzol, L., Rumbo, C., Schmid, O., Shandilya, N., Stone, V., Stoycheva, S., Stoeger, T., Merino, B.S., Tran, L., Tsiliki, G., Vogel, U.B., Wohlleben, W., Zabeo, A., 2024. Next Generation Risk Assessment approaches for advanced nanomaterials: Current status and future perspectives. NANOIMPACT, 35. doi.org/10.1016/j.impact.2024.100523
  • Carlesso, A., Pizzol, L., Marcomini, A., Semenzin, E., 2024. Data quality assessment of aggregated LCI datasets: A case study on fossil-based and bio-based plastic food packaging. JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY, 28, 1900 – 1911. doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13572
  • Cecchetto, M., Peruzza, L., Giubilato, E., Bernardini, I., Rovere, G.D., Marcomini, A., Regoli, F., Bargelloni, L., Patarnello, T., Semenzin, E., Milan, M., 2023. An innovative index to incorporate transcriptomic data into weight of evidence approaches for environmental risk assessment. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, 227, 115745. doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.115745
  • Calgaro, L., Giubilato, E., Lamon, L., Semenzin, E., Marcomini, A., 2024. Fate and transport of ten plant protection products of emerging concern in a coastal lagoon: application and evaluation of a multimedia level III fugacity model.  ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, 263, 120047. doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2024.120047
  • Sperotto, A., Molina, J.L., Torresan, S., Critto, A., Pulido-Velazquez, M., Marcomini, A., 2019. A Bayesian Networks approach for the assessment of climate change impacts on nutrients loading. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY, 100, 21–36. doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.06.004
  • Sambo, B., Sano, M., Sperotto, A., Zanetti, M., Torresan, S., Lambert, J.H., Linkov, I., Critto, A., 2024. Sensitivity analysis for a participatory approach to enhance the climate resilience of Venice, Italy. RISK ANALYSIS, 44, 1573–1585. doi.org/10.1111/risa.14258
  • Zanetti, M., Allegri, E., Sperotto, A., Torresan, S., Critto, A., 2022. Spatio-temporal cross-validation to predict pluvial flood events in the Metropolitan City of Venice. JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY,  612, 128150. doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128150
  • Sambo, B., Sperotto, A., Torresan, S., Pittore, M., Zebisch, M., & Critto, A., 2024. Looking at the Water-Energy-Food nexus through the lens of Ecosystem Services: a new perspective. Environmental Research Letters, 19(12), 121003. doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/AD96CF
  • Badetti, E., Brunelli, A., Basei, G., Gallego-Urrea, J.A., Stoll, S., Walch, H., Praetorius, A., von der Kammer, F., Marcomini, A., 2021. Novel multimethod approach for the determination of the colloidal stability of nanomaterials in complex environmental mixtures using a global stability index: TiO2 as case study. SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, 801, 149607. doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149607
  • Zennaro, F., Furlan, E., Simeoni, C., Torresan, S., Aslan, S., Critto, A., Marcomini, A., 2021. Exploring machine learning potential for climate change risk assessment. EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS, 220, 103752. doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103752
  • Semenzin, E., Subramanian, V., Pizzol, L., Zabeo, A., Fransman, W., Oksel, C., Hristozov, D., Marcomini, A., 2019. Controlling the risks of nano-enabled products through the life cycle: The case of nano copper oxide paint for wood protection and nano-pigments used in the automotive industry. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 131, 104901. doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.06.011
  • Fadeel, B., Farcal, L., Hardy, B., Vázquez-Campos, S., Hristozov, D., Marcomini, A., Lynch, I., Valsami-Jones, E., Alenius, H., Savolainen, K., 2018. Advanced tools for the safety assessment of nanomaterials. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY, 13, 537–543. doi.org/10.1038/s41565-018-0185-0

Case studies

  • Quality of water and sediment of the Venice lagoon;
  • PFAS in the groundwater system of the Vicenza province;
  • Assessment of human health and environmental risks as well as of environmental (LCA) and economic (LCC) impacts of innovative solutions for the conservation of cultural heritage objects;
  • Nano-Cu based coatings for wood treatment;
  • Medical devices based on nano-Ag;
  • Multi-risk assessment related to climate change;
  • Cumulative impact assessment in marine and coastal environments;
  • Machine Learning application for risk assessment of climate change;
  • Impact assessment of climate change on the “water-energy-food-ecosystem services” nexus;
  • Climate change impacts on environmental quality.

Equipment

The group uses state-of-the-art instrumentation and software for its research, and has access to University instrumentation for materials characterization and analysis of environmental matrices managed by the CSA [ITA].
In particular, the group possesses the specialized skills for the use, processing, and interpretation of data, including on behalf of third parties, of:

  • Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS)
  • Electrophoretic Light Scattering (ELS)
  • Centrifugal Separation Analysis (CSA)
  • Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR)
  • Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA)/Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC)
  • Single Particle Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (spICP-MS)
  • Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)
  • Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
  • Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)
  • Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
  • Software e database per studi LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) studies
  • Multicompartmental models for the simulation of transport and environmental fate of chemicals in the aquatic environment

Research projects

  • Horizon Europe - BioSusTex (€ 521.780,00)
  • Horizon Europe - SurfToGreen (€ 463.412,00)
  • Horizon Europe - SUNRISE (€ 399.982,00) - Coordinator prof. Antonio Marcomini
  • Horizon Europe - GREENART (€ 137.751,00)
  • Horizon 2020 - SUNSHINE (€ 401.625,00) - Coordinator prof. Antonio Marcomini
  • Horizon 2020 - EMERGE (€ 402.267,93)
  • Agreement CORILA-DAIS, Project Venezia2021 (€ 467.000,00)
  • Horizon 2020 - RISKGONE (€ 180.434,90)
  • Horizon 2020 - APACHE (€ 343.807,12)
  • Horizon 2020 - BIORIMA (€ 195.387,50)
  • Horizon 2020 - CALIBRATE (€ 199.150,00)
  • Horizon 2020 - NANOFASE (€ 121.068,75)
  • Horizon 2020 - NANORESTART (€ 324.437,50)
  • FP7 - SUN: Sustainable nanotechnologies (€ 1.002.374,00) - Coordinator prof. Antonio Marcomini
  • MAECI - BRIDGE (€ 100.000,00) - Coordinator prof. Andrea Critto
  • Horizon 2020 - MYRIAD (€ 25.000,00)
  • Horizon 2020 - "Green Deal" REST-COAST (€ 130.000,00)
  • Horizon EUROPE - EXPEDITE (€ 190.000,00) - Scientific manager prof. Andrea Critto
  • Interreg Italy-Croatia - ADRIACLIM (€ 125.000,00)

Last update: 22/09/2025