Scotland is taking steps to understand and address the risks posed by emerging contaminants in its water environment. Three research projects, commissioned by the Centre of Expertise for Waters (CREW), have provided critical insights into the presence, sources, and potential impacts of contaminants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and antimicrobial-resistant genes.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi or other microbes change in ways that stop medicines, like antibiotics, from working properly. This makes infections harder to treat and increases the risk of them spreading, lasting longer, or becoming more serious. The Scottish One Health AMR Register (SOHAR) brings together AMR-related research involving Scottish researchers and organisations. It shows how Scotland is contributing to national efforts and helps identify where more work is needed.
Welcome to the summer edition of our quarterly newsletter, CREW NEWS! In this edition we are shining a spotlight on some of our recently published projects, highlighting a successful project workshop and hearing from our Director, Rachel Helliwell.
We'd love to hear what you'd be interested in reading in future issues of CREW NEWS.
A recent CREW stakeholder workshop brought together researchers, policymakers, industry experts, regulators and other environmental professionals to explore how Scotland is contributing to the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Type of project: Capacity Building
Project status: Project in progress
Commercial forestry operations potentially exert various influences on water quality, with impacts varying depending on the type of forestry operations and their interactions with local environmental conditions.
Scotland faces a critical public health crisis with one of the highest drug-related death rates in the developed world. Polysubstance use further complicates this issue, creating unpredictable health risks for users. Efforts to address this crisis include the National Drugs Mission Plan (2022–2026), which emphasizes reducing drug-related deaths through improved data collection and harm reduction strategies.
Welcome to our new quarterly CREW newsletter, CREW NEWS!
In this spring edition we’re reminding you of our current calls for proposals, highlighting completed projects and feeding back from our project evaluation forms. As it’s our first edition we’ve also included a refresher on ‘who we are and what we do’ and there’s a letter from our comms officer detailing some favourite moments from her first year in post.
We’d love to hear what you’d be interested in reading in future issues of CREW NEWS.
Type of project: Hydro Nation International Centre (HNIC) Call Down
Project Status: Project complete. The report can be accessed via the HNIC website here
Overview: This project conducted a rapid evidence review and synthesis on the utility of wastewater surveillance for detecting and monitoring emerging and re-emerging pathogens (e.g. measles) and endemic infections, including blood-borne viruses and enteric viruses.
CREW Code: CD2024_03
Theme: Water Quality and Health
Project status: Project complete. Click here to visit the publication page to view the project outputs.
Type of project: Call Down
Lead research team: The University of Strathclyde