The quality of the surrounding environment affects directly human health. Air, water, soil and food form pathways for exposure to organic and inorganic pollutants such as pesticides, hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and other toxic substances. Some of these contaminants are classified as known or possible carcinogens to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). They may accumulate in ecosystems, affect food chains, and pose risks ranging from acute toxicity to long-term health effects. Monitoring these pollutants and understanding their distribution and environmental fate and then trying to reduce their levels is essential to protect both environment and public health

For this reason, “The Health and Environment Research Program” was established at LAEC. This program involves several laboratories and research teams that collaborate to provide high-quality data and scientific expertise from different fields in support of environmental and food safety and human health protection.

Within this program, many continuous monitoring studies and researches cover organic and inorganic contaminants in almost all environmental matrices and food:

• Air: Heavy metals and organic pollutants are evaluated in particulate matter (PM₁₀, PM_2.5 and PM₁) collected using low and high-volume air samplers. In-vitro studies on human cells are also performed to understand the action mechanisms underlying pathophysiology involved in the toxicity of air pollutants such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, PolyChlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs).
• Aquatic systems: several studies are conducted to estimate the levels of organic pollutants such as PAHs, pesticides, PCBs and antibiotics in aqueous phase (collected by active or passive sampling techniques) and in sediments. The distribution of these contaminants and their preferences toward different phases in the aquatic ecosystem is studied.
• Food: in food matrices, such as vegetables, raw and grilled meat from the Lebanese market, levels of PAHs, pesticides, antibiotics and heavy metals are measured and then their toxicity to human is evaluated.
• Soil: samples from sites affected by various anthropogenic activities are analyzed for organic and inorganic pollutants in order to assess their environmental and human health impacts.
• Water decontamination: This program targets the removal of radionuclides and toxic elements (e.g. mercury) from aquatic environments through the design of supramolecular systems and functionalized polymers, such as calix[4]pyrroles and modified phenolic resins. By introducing specific molecular functionalities, these materials act as selective adsorbents with enhanced affinity and selectivity toward target contaminants.

All steps of the analytical procedure, including sampling (for most of the samples), sample preparation, separation and detection of target analytes, are performed by the LAEC research teams and competent staff, under a robust quality assurance system, ensuring precision, traceability and credibility of results. All these research and monitoring programs are carried out in collaboration with ministries, academic institutions, and national and international stakeholders. The generated data are used to formulate evidence-based recommendations that support decision-makers in development and updating regulations and protecting public health and environment of the Lebanese population.