Clare Wiseman
Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Environment and Health Collaborative Program, Centre for Environment.
Office: Centre for Environment, Room 2097, 33 Willcocks St.
tel: 416-978-2972; fax: 416-978-3884; email: clare.wiseman@utoronto.ca
B.E.S. Hons. (Waterloo), M. Nat. Res. Mgmt. (Simon Fraser), Dr. phil.nat. (Frankfurt).
2011-12 Centre for Environment Courses:
Instructor of ENV4001H Graduate Seminars in Environment and Health and ENV430H/4002H Environment and Health of Vulnerable Populations.
Research Interests:
Organomineral associations in soils, human health effects of contaminant exposures, environmental health of vulnerable populations, metal emissions and their potential impacts.
Featured Research Projects:
Urban Gardening & Airborne Particulate Matter: Exploring the Fate of Traffic-Related Emissions and the Effectiveness of Risk Reduction Measures (Centre for Urban Health Initiatives seed grant, in collaboration with Foodshare, 2009-11). This research examines the fate of traffic-related metal emissions in the urban environment, their uptake by commonly cultivated plants and the effectiveness of soil remediation measures. As part of this, different plant species are cultivated at several locations in Toronto, with variable traffic densities to assess the soil accumulation and fate of metal emissions over time, their bioaccessibility and potential health risks of consumption. This research is driven by two primary questions: (1) to what extent does soil mineralogy influence the transport of trace metals from the solid to liquid phase where they become bioaccessible to plants?, and (2) how does soil ageing under field conditions influence the availability of trace metals for uptake by plants? (Please visit Research Projects Page for more information.)
Platinum Group Element Emissions: Environmental Concentrations, Exposure Levels and Human Health Risks (Ongoing collaboration with Fathi Zereini, University of Frankfurt). Investigates platinum group element (PGE) emissions from automobiles, equipped with catalytic converters, and how their concentrations have steadily increased over time. Potential human exposures and health impacts are also assessed. Current collaborative research examines the bioaccessibility of PGE in the human lung in the presence of organic complexing agents, together with other trace elements, in airborne PM samples collected in Germany using physiologically-based extraction tests.
Children and Contaminants in Public Settings: Assessing Dermal Exposure Levels and Risks. Preliminary research is underway to assess the feasibility of dermal wipe techniques to determine contaminant exposures in children playing in public parks and playgrounds. Metal exposures from local emission sources and through contact with various construction materials in Toronto is the focus of this study initiated in August 2010.
Forthcoming and Recent Publications:
Zereini, F, and CLS Wiseman. (eds.) Urban Airborne Particulate Matter: Origins, Chemistry, Fate and Health Impacts. Berlin: Springer Verlag. (Forthcoming in 2010.)
Wiseman, CLS, and F. Zereini, F. 2009. Airborne particulate matter, platinum group elements and human health: a review of recent evidence. Science of the Total Environment 407: 2493-2500.
Alsenz H, Zereini F, CLS Wiseman, W. Puettmann, R. Schleyer, E. Bieber. 2009. Measuring palladium in airborne particulate matter using reductive co-precipitation and isotope dilution ICP-MS with helium as a collision gas. Analytical Biochemistry and Chemistry 395: 1919-1927.