Dr Anthony Umeh
Lecturer
Global Centre for Environmental Remediation
- Email:anthony.umeh@newcastle.edu.au
- Phone: (02) 405 53252
Career Summary
Biography
Dr. Anthony Umeh is a Research Fellow at the Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER).
Expertise
Anthony’s overall areas of expertise are in emerging contaminants, contaminant fate and transport modelling, Adsorption-based technologies for emerging contaminant remediation, contaminant bioaccessibility and bioavailability, human and ecological health exposure and risk assessments, soil geochemistry, and environmental statistics. One of the key components of Anthony's research is understanding the science underpinning contaminant fate and transport, and remediation in the surface and subsurface environments, as well the impacts of soil and groundwater properties, and mixtures, on contaminant transport and release in soil and groundwater.
Current and Previous Research
Anthony is currently leading projects focused on the in-situ immobilisation of PFAS in soil and groundwater, and he has been leading PFAS transport projects funded by Industry end-users. His current research interests relate to predicting the release of contaminants from the saturated and unsaturated into groundwater, as well as preventing or minimising such potential releases.
In addition to PFAS, he has significant experience on the exposure and risk assessment of conventional hydrophobic organic contaminants, such as the carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, in soils from former gasworks sites. Anthony's research is providing new insights into the fate and behaviour of chemical contaminants after their release into the environment, as well as the magnitude of risks to the health of living organisms and the environment from exposures to these contaminants.
Anthony and collaborators published the first application of machine learning for the prediction of PFOS sorption in a wide range of well-characterised tropical and temperate soils. Since 2017, he has published over 10 first-author peer-reviewed articles, including 2 book chapters in top journals.
Anthony was invited by the FAO (United Nations) to present his work on PFAS at the recent Global Symposium on Soils and Water, and he has also presented his work at leading international contaminated land conferences in Australia, Asia, North America, and the United Kingdom. He serves as a peer reviewer and guest editor for top Environmental Science Journals and is affiliated with professional societies in his field, including the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Asia Pacific, American Chemical Society, Soil Science Society Australia, and the International Union of Soil Science.
Value
Anthony’s research is contributing to minimising the uncertainties associated with contaminant fate and transport in the environment, as well as helping to understand the science underpinning potential contaminant exposures through surface and subsurface soils, as well as surface water and groundwater. His research is helping contaminated land stakeholders, including industry practitioners and regulators, in Australia and beyond to make effective risk-based decisions for cost-effective management of contaminated sites.
Potential Supervision and Collaboration
Anthony is open and keen to work on innovative projects focusing on emerging and emerged contaminants, contaminant transport modelling, machine learning, contaminant adsorption-based technologies, contaminant risk assessment, including bioavailability and bioaccessibility assessements.
Qualifications
- PhD (Environmental Remediation), University of Newcastle
- Bachelor of Science (Zoology) (Honours), Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
- Master of Science, Lancaster University - England
Keywords
- Adsorbent Technologies
- Contaminant Bioavailability and Bioaccessibility
- Contaminant Transport Modelling
- Emerging Contaminants
- Environmental Health Risk Assessment
- Human Health Risk Assessment
- Hydrophobic Organic Contaminant Residues
- Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Chemicals
- Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
- Risk-based Contaminated Land Management
- Soil
Languages
- Igbo (Mother)
- English (Fluent)
- Yoruba (Fluent)
- Hausa (Working)
Fields of Research
| Code | Description | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 410503 | Groundwater quality processes and contaminated land assessment | 40 |
| 410604 | Soil chemistry and soil carbon sequestration (excl. carbon sequestration science) | 10 |
| 370701 | Contaminant hydrology | 10 |
| 410599 | Pollution and contamination not elsewhere classified | 20 |
| 410201 | Bioavailability and ecotoxicology | 20 |
Professional Experience
UON Appointment
| Title | Organisation / Department |
|---|---|
| Lecturer | University of Newcastle Global Centre for Environmental Remediation Australia |
Awards
Distinction
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2020 |
Distinguished Global Talent Australian Government |
Invitations
Committee Member
| Year | Title / Rationale |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 2022 International CleanUp Conference |
| 2021 | Sustainathon: An update on global progress towards the UN SDGs. REMTECH Europe |
Participant
| Year | Title / Rationale |
|---|---|
| 2019 |
International Workshop on Science Diplomacy and Innovation Diplomacy I was one of the 40 researchers (and 2 from Australia) selected through a competitive process from a pool of over 1000 global applicants by the Advanced School of Science and Innovation Diplomacy Sao Paulo to attend the 10-day international workshop on science and innovation diplomacy at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. As a result of my participation at the workshop, I have an understanding and am developing an international network in the field of science and innovation diplomacy, valuable for successful scientific cooperation and collaborations in Australia and beyond. |
Speaker
| Year | Title / Rationale |
|---|---|
| 2023 |
Linking Emerging Chemicals in Soil to Water Contamination: The Specific Case of the 'Forever Chemicals’ – PFAS. GSOWA 2023, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations Global Symposium on Soils and Water 2023 |
| 2022 | Environmental Transport of PFAS, the Emerged Contaminant that's the Talk of Town. crcCARE's World Environment Day Event |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Highlighted Publications
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |
Umeh AC, Duan L, Naidu R, Semple KT, 'Residual hydrophobic organic contaminants in soil: Are they a barrier to risk-based approaches for managing contaminated land?', ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL, 98 18-34 (2017) [C1]
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| 2018 |
Umeh AC, Duan L, Naidu R, Semple KT, 'Time-Dependent Remobilisation of Non-Extractable Benzo[a]pyrene Residues in Contrasting Soils: Effects of Aging, Spiked Concentration, and Soil Properties.', ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, 52 12295-12305 (2018) [C1]
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| 2019 |
Umeh AC, Duan L, Naidu R, Esposito M, Semple KT, 'In vitro gastrointestinal mobilization and oral bioaccessibility of PAHs in contrasting soils and associated cancer risks: Focus on PAH nonextractable residues', Environment International, 133 (2019) [C1]
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Chapter (2 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 |
Wijayawardena MAA, Liu Y, Yan K, Duan L, Umeh AC, Naidu R, Semple KT, 'Assessment of the Oral Bioavailability of Organic Contaminants in Humans', Handbook of Environmental Chemistry 191-218 (2020) [B1] Bioavailability estimates the actual internal uptake or absorption of contaminants that enter the body (internal dose) and helps in providing a more accurate estimation of the hum... [more] Bioavailability estimates the actual internal uptake or absorption of contaminants that enter the body (internal dose) and helps in providing a more accurate estimation of the human risks than the usage of total concentration. This is important for exposure assessment for children in relation to their hand-to-mouth activities. For example significant reductions of the bioavailability of long-term contaminated soils have been demonstrated using various animal models. The measurement for bioavailability involves various uncertainties for organic contaminants. It is crucial to determine the parameters that influence the results of bioavailability. This chapter provides a summary of the current state of knowledge for the determination of bioavailability for a range of organic contaminants. The information provided will be useful in facilitating further research efforts for the investigation of bioavailability of contaminants in conducting exposure assessments.
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| 2020 |
Umeh AC, Naidu R, Owojori OJ, Semple KT, 'Bioavailability and Bioaccessibility of Hydrophobic Organic Contaminants in Soil and Associated Desorption-Based Measurements', Bioavailability of Organic Chemicals in Soil and Sediment, Springer Nature, Switzerland 293-350 (2020) [B1]
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Journal article (14 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 |
Umeh AC, Naidu R, Olisa E, Liu Y, Qi F, Bekele D, 'A systematic investigation of single solute, binary and ternary PFAS transport in water-saturated soil using batch and 1-dimensional column studies: Focus on mixture effects.', Journal of hazardous materials, 461 132688 (2024) [C1]
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| 2023 |
Umeh AC, Stegh J, Naidu R, 'Toward In Situ Sequestration of Multicomponent PFAS Using Injectable Adsorbent Suspensions', ACS ES&T Water, 3 3858-3873 (2023) [C1]
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| 2023 |
Umeh AC, Hassan M, Egbuatu M, Zeng Z, Al Amin M, Samarasinghe C, Naidu R, 'Multicomponent PFAS sorption and desorption in common commercial adsorbents: Kinetics, isotherm, adsorbent dose, pH, and index ion and ionic strength effects.', Sci Total Environ, 904 166568 (2023) [C1]
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| 2021 |
Umeh AC, Naidu R, Shilpi S, Boateng EB, Rahman A, Cousins IT, et al., 'Sorption of PFOS in 114 Well-Characterized Tropical and Temperate Soils: Application of Multivariate and Artificial Neural Network Analyses', Environmental Science and Technology, 55 1779-1789 (2021) [C1] The influence of soil properties on PFOS sorption are not fully understood, particularly for variable charge soils. PFOS batch sorption isotherms were conducted for 114 temperate ... [more] The influence of soil properties on PFOS sorption are not fully understood, particularly for variable charge soils. PFOS batch sorption isotherms were conducted for 114 temperate and tropical soils from Australia and Fiji, that were well-characterized for their soil properties, including total organic carbon (TOC), anion exchange capacity, and surface charge. In most soils, PFOS sorption isotherms were nonlinear. PFOS sorption distribution coefficients (Kd) ranged from 5 to 229 mL/g (median: 28 mL/g), with 63% of the Fijian soils and 35% of the Australian soils showing Kd values that exceeded the observed median Kd. Multiple linear regression showed that TOC, amorphous aluminum and iron oxides contents, anion exchange capacity, pH, and silt content, jointly explained about 53% of the variance in PFOS Kd in soils. Variable charge soils with net positive surface charges, and moderate to elevated TOC content, generally displayed enhanced PFOS sorption than in temperate or tropical soils with TOC as the only sorbent phase, especially at acidic pH ranges. For the first time, two artificial neural networks were developed to predict the measured PFOS Kd (R2 = 0.80) in the soils. Overall, both TOC and surface charge characteristics of soils are important for describing PFOS sorption.
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| 2020 |
Naidu R, Nadebaum P, Fang C, Cousins I, Pennell K, Conder J, et al., 'Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): Current status and research needs', Environmental Technology and Innovation, 19 (2020) [C1]
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| 2020 |
Bekele DN, Liu Y, Donaghey M, Umeh A, Arachchige CSV, Chadalavada S, Naidu R, 'Separation and Lithological Mapping of PFAS Mixtures in the Vadose Zone at a Contaminated Site', Frontiers in Water, 2 [C1]
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| 2019 |
Umeh AC, Panneerselvan L, Duan L, Naidu R, Semple KT, 'Bioaccumulation of benzo[a]pyrene nonextractable residues in soil by Eisenia fetida and associated background-level sublethal genotoxicity (DNA single-strand breaks)', Science of the Total Environment, 691 605-610 (2019) [C1]
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| 2019 |
Umeh AC, Duan L, Naidu R, Semple KT, 'Extremely small amounts of B[a]P residues remobilised in long-term contaminated soils: A strong case for greater focus on readily available and not total-extractable fractions in risk assessment', Journal of Hazardous Materials, 368 72-80 (2019) [C1]
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| 2019 |
Umeh AC, Duan L, Naidu R, Esposito M, Semple KT, 'In vitro gastrointestinal mobilization and oral bioaccessibility of PAHs in contrasting soils and associated cancer risks: Focus on PAH nonextractable residues', Environment International, 133 (2019) [C1]
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| 2018 |
Umeh AC, Vázquez-Cuevas GM, Semple KT, 'Mineralisation of ¹4C-phenanthrene in PAH-diesel contaminated soil: Impact of Sorghum bicolor and Medicago sativa mono- or mixed culture', Applied Soil Ecology, 125 46-55 (2018) [C1]
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| 2018 |
Umeh AC, Duan L, Naidu R, Semple KT, 'Comparison of Single- and Sequential-Solvent Extractions of Total Extractable Benzo[a]pyrene Fractions in Contrasting Soils', Analytical Chemistry, 90 11703-11709 (2018) [C1]
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| 2018 |
Umeh AC, Duan L, Naidu R, Semple KT, 'Enhanced Recovery of Nonextractable Benzo[a]pyrene Residues in Contrasting Soils Using Exhaustive Methanolic and Nonmethanolic Alkaline Treatments', Analytical Chemistry, 90 13104-13111 (2018) [C1]
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| 2018 |
Umeh AC, Duan L, Naidu R, Semple KT, 'Time-Dependent Remobilisation of Non-Extractable Benzo[a]pyrene Residues in Contrasting Soils: Effects of Aging, Spiked Concentration, and Soil Properties.', ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, 52 12295-12305 (2018) [C1]
|
Nova | |||||||||
| 2017 |
Umeh AC, Duan L, Naidu R, Semple KT, 'Residual hydrophobic organic contaminants in soil: Are they a barrier to risk-based approaches for managing contaminated land?', ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL, 98 18-34 (2017) [C1]
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| Show 11 more journal articles | |||||||||||
Conference (2 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 |
Naidu R, Biswas B, Umeh A, 'PFAS from an Australian Perspective', The University Consortium for Field-Focused Groundwater Research, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada (2021)
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| 2018 |
Umeh A, Duan L, Semple K, Naidu R, 'Remobilisation of 'non-extractable' Benzo[a]pyrene residues in contrasting Australian soils', ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Boston, MA (2018)
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Grants and Funding
Summary
| Number of grants | 1 |
|---|---|
| Total funding | $737,709 |
Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.
20221 grants / $737,709
In-situ Source Zone Groundwater PFAS Immobilisation at Newman, WA$737,709
Funding body: CRC CARE Pty Ltd
| Funding body | CRC CARE Pty Ltd |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Doctor Anthony Umeh, Doctor Masud Hassan, Professor Ravi Naidu |
| Scheme | Research Grant |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2022 |
| Funding Finish | 2024 |
| GNo | G2200985 |
| Type Of Funding | C3100 – Aust For Profit |
| Category | 3100 |
| UON | Y |
Research Supervision
Number of supervisions
Current Supervision
| Commenced | Level of Study | Research Title | Program | Supervisor Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | PhD | Biomonitoring and Risk Assessment of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Coastal waters of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria | PhD (Environment Remediation), College of Engineering, Science and Environment, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
| 2022 | PhD | Nanoclay Supported Bimetallic Fe/Ni Nanoparticles for the Remediation of Organic Contaminated Aqueous Solutions | PhD (Environment Remediation), College of Engineering, Science and Environment, The University of Newcastle | Co-Supervisor |
Dr Anthony Umeh
Position
Lecturer
Global Centre for Environmental Remediation
College of Engineering, Science and Environment
Contact Details
| anthony.umeh@newcastle.edu.au | |
| Phone | (02) 405 53252 |
| Link |
Office
| Room | ATC Building, Level 1 |
|---|---|
| Building | Advanced Technology Centre (ATC) Building |
| Location | Callaghan University Drive Callaghan, NSW 2308 Australia |
