Clare Wiseman

Associate Professor and Graduate Associate Director, School of the Environment

Clare Wiseman

 

Office: School of the 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).

Biography

Clare Wiseman is an Associate Professor at the School of the Environment, University of Toronto. She is cross appointed to the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences (Scarborough), University of Toronto. Prof. Wiseman’s academic background encompasses environmental and earth sciences. Her research is focused on improving our understanding of the fate, behavior and exposure pathways of metal and metalloid emissions and their human health implications in an urban context.

Research Interests

Traffic-related metal and metalloid emissions and associated human health risks, road dust as a source of contaminants for urban air and watersheds, contaminants and urban gardening.

Featured Research Projects

Characterizing the elemental enrichment patterns of fractionated road dust and fluxes in the environment (2018 – present). This NSERC-funded research (Discovery Grants Program, RGPIN-2018-05966) aims to examine the elemental and physical characteristics of Toronto road dust, with a focus on characterizing the potential respiratory health risks for vulnerable urban populations. A primary goal is to quantify the contribution of non-exhaust traffic emissions to urban air pollution and assist the City of Toronto in optimizing street sweeping operations for the improvement of air quality.

Concentrations, Dissolution Behaviour and Toxicity of Metal- and Metalloid-Bearing Particles in Road Dust Size Fractions of Human Health Concern, including Nano-Scale Fractions (2015 – present). In collaboration with Health Canada, this research aims to assess the physical and metal and metalloid profiles of road dust particle size fractions of respiratory health concern collected in Toronto. The goal is to help inform Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan and Clean Air Regulatory Agenda, as well as to support current international commitments with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials.

Featured Publications

Levesque C, Wiseman CLS, Beauchemin S, Rasmussen PE (2021). Thoracic fraction (PM10) of resuspended urban dust: Geochemistry, particle size distribution and lung bioaccessibility. Geosciences 11, 87. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11020087

Wiseman CLS, Parnia A, Chakravartty D, Archbold J, Copes R, Cole DC. (2019). Total, methyl and inorganic mercury concentrations in blood and environmental exposure sources in newcomer women. Environmental Research 169: 261-271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2018.11.011

Wiseman CLS, Niu J, Levesque C, Chénier M, Rasmussen PE. (2018). An assessment of the inhalation bioaccessibility of platinum group elements in road dust using a simulated lung fluid. Environmental Pollution 241: 1009-1017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.06.043