You are here
The Norman Early Warning System (NormaNEWS)
A new retrospective analysis exchange platform for laboratories active in non-target screening
NormaNEWS is lead by Kevin Thomas at NIVA (Norway) / University of Queensland (Australia) as part of the Non-target screening cross-working group activity of the NORMAN network.
What is NormaNEWS and how does it work
The Norman Early Warning System (NormaNEWS) is a collaborative activity aimed at members active in non-target analysis.
The concept of NormaNEWS is that when one group identifies a new contaminant of emerging concern identification criteria are sent to other members of the group who use retrospective analysis techniques to check their own samples. This way we can rapidly establish the occurrence of newly identified compounds of emerging concern across Europe and beyond.
The first round of the collaborative NormaNEWS joint activity in 2016 successfully demonstrated the usefulness of the retrospective screening of high resolution mass spectrometric data in establishing the spatial and temporal occurrence of newly identified compounds of emerging concern. The results of this pilot study are presented in Alygizakis et al., ES&T, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b00365. The list of contaminants screened can be found on the NORMAN Suspect Exchange and the CompTox Chemistry Dashboard.
To build on the first study, the NORMAN network has decided to launch NormaNEWS 2 as part of the activities of the NTS Cross-Working Group Activity (NORMAN JPA 2018 and NORMAN JPA 2019).
In NormaNEWS 2 we wish to further develop this approach to cover many more contaminants of emerging concern, include a broader range of matrices, and significantly increase temporal and spatial coverage.
While NORMAN members are encouraged to participate in NormaNEWS, laboratories outside the NORMAN network are also welcome to participate.
How to participate in NormaNEWS 2
For further information please mail kevin.thomas@uq.edu.au