Scott Mabury

Academic Title: Professor and Vice-Provost, Academic Operations

Phone: 416-978-1780

Office: LM 321

Email:

Research Homepage: http://www.chem.utoronto.ca/staff/MABURY/Index.htm

Understanding the mechanisms and pathways that determine the environmental fate, disposition, and persistence of chemical pollutants is fundamental to formulating solutions to current and future environmental problems. Currently we are investigating the role that sunlight plays in the "natural cleansing" of rivers, lakes, and oceans via the generation of reactive oxidants (e.g. hydroxyl and carbonate radical). Additionally, we are interested in the increased use of fluorine as a structural component in industrial and agrochemicals. Little is known regarding the influence fluorine has on the environmental persistence of these potential pollutants, or more specifically, on the fate of the fluorine itself.

Photo-oxidants. Specifically, we are investigating the dynamics of the generation and consumption of the hydroxyl (*mical pollutants, and elucidating the resulting reaction pathways. Ultimately, one goal is to obtain a more thorough understanding of the role these, and other sunlight derived oxidants, play in limiting the persistence of aquatic pollutants.

Fluorinated Pollutants. Current efforts are focused on developing the use of 19F NMR as a selective analytical technique for obtaining structural and quantitative information about fluorinated organic chemicals. We can investigate environmental degradation pathways and products directly in an NMR tube without the onerous extraction, clean-up, concentration or chromatographic steps involved with traditional techniques. Future work will focus on utilizing these techniques to investigate the influence of fluorine on environmental degradation pathways. 

Furdui, VI, PW Crozier, EJ Reiner and SA Mabury. 2008.  Rapid Analysis of Trace Levels of Perfluorianted Compounds in Great Lakes Water.Chemosphere. Accepted.

Butt, CM, SA Mabury, M Kwan, X Wang, DCG Muir.  2008.  Spatial Trends of Perfluoroalkyl Compounds in Ringed Seals ( Phoca Hispida ) from the Canadian Arctic.  Env. Tox. Chem. 27 : 542-553.

Vanstone, N, M Elsner, G Lacrampe-Douloume, S Mabury, BS Lollar. 2008.  Potential for Identifyng Abiotic Chloroalkane Degradation Mechanisms Using Carbon Isotopic Fractionation. Environ. Sci. Technol .  42 :126-132.

Phillips, MM, MJA Dinglasan-Panlilo, SA Mabury, KR Solomon and PK Sibley. 2007. Fluorotelomer Acids are More Toxic than Perfluorinated Acids. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41 : 7159-7163.

D'eon JC and SA Mabury.  2007.  Production of Perfluorinated Carboxylic Acids (PFCAs) from the Biotransformation of Polyfluoroalkyl Phosphate Surfactants (PAPS): Exploring Routes of Human Contamination. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41 : 4799-4805.

Butt, CM, SA Mabury, DCG Muir, and BM Braun.  2007.  Prevalence of long-chained perfluorinated carboxylates in seabirds from the Canadian Arctic between 1975 and 2004. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41 : 3521-3528.

Stock, NA, V Furdui, DCG Muir, and SA Mabury.   2007.  Perfluoroalkyl Contaminants in the Canadian Arctic: Evidence of Atmospheric Transport and Local Contamination.  Environ. Sci. Technol. 41 : 3529-3536.

Young, CJ, VI Furdui, J Franklin, RM Koerner, DCG Muir, and SA Mabury.  2007.  Perfluorinated Acids in Arctic Snow: New Evidence for Atmospheric Formation.  Environ. Sci. Technol. 41 : 3455-3461.