Modelling chemical toxicity to wildlife to help to dispose of our radioactive waste

We are seeking a highly motivated individual to carry out a 4-year PhD project to develop an approach for estimating chemical toxicity to wildlife in support of the UK’s radioactive waste disposal activities by empowering decision making and building confidence around our ability to deal with radioactive and non-radioactive wastes in the long-term. The PhD has funding in place ready to start in October 2024.

Past, present, and future anthropogenic uses of radioactivity from medical applications through to nuclear power generate radioactive wastes that we need to dispose of. The UK government is committed to geological disposal (GDF) for some of them. In addition to radioactivity, these wastes may contain non-radioactive hazardous materials such as lead and mercury, depleted uranium, Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), nitrates, hexachlorobenzene and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) amongst others. We need to understand the potential impacts of these non-radioactive stressors on wildlife.

To develop an approach for determining the effects on wildlife from non-radioactive stressors, you will interrogate the ecotoxicological literature related to non-radioactive stressors of interest and analyse criteria for determining the risk from these stressors to non-human biota. Having identified where ecotoxicological data are needed, you will then experimentally fill some of these data gaps. You will consider the effects of multiple stressors and incorporate your findings into a novel assessment tool that you will build for predicting the risk to wildlife from these non-radioactive stressors.

The successful candidate will be based in Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Stirling, supervised by Professor David Copplestone and Dr Clare Wilson, and you will spend time at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology’s ecotoxicology unit with Dr Dave Spurgeon and Lee Walker.

The project is fully sponsored by Nuclear Waste Services (NWS), the UK organisation responsible for radioactive waste disposal and you will join a cohort of PhD students, all sponsored by NWS, to undertake training, outreach, and networking with the nuclear industry. There are also opportunities for placements relevant to the nuclear industry, environmental organisations, and government.

Interested? Great! You should have a 1st or 2:1 Bachelor or Masters degree (or equivalent experience) in a relevant subject such as: biology, chemistry, ecology, or environmental science. You must work well independently and as part of a research team and are expected to participate in relevant national and international conferences and meet with industrial partners.

For more information, please contact Professor David Copplestone: [Email Address Removed]