Karin Wiberg

The POPs-group strives for increased knowledge about environmental pollutants and their effects in aquatic and terrestrial environments. The research also includes treatment techniques for improved water quality and sustainable use of water. We develop early warning methodology and new strategies for identification of previously unknown chemical risks with a focus on drinking and waste water through prioritization methodology and advanced mass spectrometry. Our POPs laboratory is dedicated for trace analysis of micropollutants in the environment. 

CURRENT PROJECTS

TRACED: New approaches for source tracing of dioxins in contaminated sediments, Swedish EPA
MycoDDT: In situ bioremediation of DDT-contaminated soil using lignin degrading fungi industry, PhD student, SGU and Sveaskog
SAFESTORM: Are today’s stormwater systems safe chemical filters for toxic micropollutants? Formas
DRICKS: Competence centre for drinking water - Projects about sources, prevalence, and treatment of hazardous chemicals in drinking water, Svenskt Vatten and others.
New chempraxis: New practice for assessment and management of risks associated with unwanted chemical substances in water, Impact Innovation, WaterWise Societies (PI Ekaterina Sokolova, Uppsala University)

CLIMAMINE: Impact of winter heat waves on mining-affected environment: Concerns over pollutants mobilization and redistribution under changing climate, Formas (PI Uzair Akbar Khan)
MECROPLAN: Mapping of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) including microplastic in landfill leachate, their current ecological impact and sustainable technologies for their removal, Formas (PI Oksana Golovko)
STOP-ARG: Stopping spreads of antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotics from on-site sewage facilities to the groundwater (PI Foon Yin Lai)

FINALIZED PROJECTS

REASSURE: To reuse or not: is purified wastewater a non-toxic and sustainable resource for the future? Swedish EPA (PI Foon Yin Lai)
Riskrankning of chemicals in drinking water - The Risk Thermometer: Svenskt Vatten (PI Anders Glynn, SLU)
DANTE: Effect-directed analysis as a tool towards a non-toxic environment - identification of mixture effects and toxicity drivers in water, Formas (PI Johan Lundqvist, SLU)
Rest to best: Biochar as solution and product in the circular and climate positive society, Vinnova (PI Lund municipality)
Blackwater treatment and reuse as agricultural fertilizer: Formas (PI Meri Gros)
PERFORCE3: Per and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) towards the Future of Research and its Communication in Europe 3, EU - MCS Integrated Training Network (PI Ian Cousins)
Food waste to new food in an urban context: Formas (PI Malin Hultberg, SLU)
LakePOPs: Lake Mälaren – a lake for millions – but threatened as a natural resource for drinking water, Formas
Benchmarking granulated active carbon treatment: Formas (PI Stephan Köhler, SLU)
SafeDrink: Integrated chemical and toxicological methods for early detection of hazardous chemicals in drinking water, Formas
APPLICERA: Applicable site-specific environmental risk assessment of contaminated soils, Formas
RedMic: Novel strategies to reduce diffuse emissions of micropollutants from on-site sewage facilities, Formas (PI Patrik Andersson, Umeå University). 
POPscreen: Identification of emerging organic pollutants in archived biota, Swedish EPA, Swedish EPA
FIBREM: Remediation of Sweden’s fiberbank sediment – Planning ahead, Vinnova (PI Ian Snowball, Uppsala University)
PFASs-Free: Innovative treatment techniques for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water, Formas (Lutz Ahrens)
TREASURE: Targeting emerging contaminated sediments along the uplifting northern Baltic coast of Sweden for remediation, Formas (PI Ian Snowball, Uppsala University)
NonHazCity: Innovative management solutions for minimizing emissions of hazardous substances from urban areas in the Baltic Sea Region, EU Interreg flagship project (PI Stockholm Stad, Tonie Wickman). 
PFASs-PURE: Innovative treatment techniques for PFAS in soil and groundwater, Vinnova (PI Lutz Ahrens)
Forest-POPs I: Legacy and emerging POPs in the Swedish forest, Formas
Forest-POPs II: POPs in Swedish snow and boreal catchment waters, Oscar and Lili Lamms Minne
Baltic POPs: Managing the dioxin problem in the Baltic region with focus on sources to air and fish, Swedish EPA
Multi-criteria analysis for identifying sustainable remediation alternatives: Formas (PI L Rosén, Chalmers)
Läkemedel och organiska miljöföroreningar i kretsloppet: HaV, (PI JTI, David Eveborn).  
Forwater: A state of the art modeling and decision support system for mitigating the effects of intensified forest production and climate change on water quality. Formas (PI H Laudon, SLU)

ORCID: 0000-0003-1427-768, Scopus author ID: 7103111728

Enell A., Casey S., Au Musse A., Josefsson S., Kikuchi J., Nilén G., Wiberg K., Dahlberg A.-K., Larsson M. Determination of polyoxymethylene (POM) water partition coefficients for DDT and its degradation products, with inter-laboratory comparison of the passive sampling methodology and bioaccumulation in earthworm (Eisenia fetida), Environmental Chemistry, 22, EN25011, 2025.  https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5074775

Löffler P,. Henschel H., Ugolini V.,  Flores Quintana H., Wiberg K., Lai, F.Y. Exploring the Role of Photolysis in the Aquatic Fate of Antimicrobial Transformation Products: Implications for One Health, ACS ES&T Water. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.5c00327

Khan U.A., Löffler P., Spilsbury F., Wiberg K., Stålsby Lundborg C., Lai F.Y. Towards sustainable water reuse: A critical review and meta-analysis of emerging chemical contaminants with risk-based evaluation, health hazard prediction and prioritization for assessment of effluent water quality, Journal of Hazardous Material, 480:136175, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136175

Löffler P., Jonsson O., Niemeyer A.S., Dahlberg A.-K., Golovko O., Götlind O., Haalck I., Ahrens L., Wiberg K., Lai F.Y. In situ active sampling of steroid hormones in water using a novel TIMFIE Device: Feasibility evaluation and comparison with traditional sampling methods, sustainable approaches to time weighted sampling, Green Analytical Chemistry 11:100143, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.greeac.2024.100143

Smith S.J., Keane C., Ahrens L, Wiberg K. Integrated treatment of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in existing wastewater treatment plants - scoping the potential of foam partitioning, ES&T Engineering, 3(9):1276–1285, 2023. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsestengg.3c00091

Dahlberg A.-K., Wiberg K., Snowball I., Lehoux A.P. Capping fiberbank sediments to reduce persistent organic pollutants (POPs) fluxes: A large-scale laboratory column experiment, Environmental Pollution, 122019, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122019

Nguyen M.A., Ahrens L., Josefsson S., Gustavsson J., Laudon H., Wiberg K. Seasonal trends and retention of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) in a remote sub-Arctic catchment, Environmental Pollution, 121992, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121992

Gobelius L., Glimstedt L., Olsson J., Wiberg K., Ahrens L. Mass flow of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in a Swedish municipal wastewater network and wastewater treatment plant, Chemosphere, 336:139182, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139182

Frieberg K., Gago-Ferrero P., Bijlsma L., Ahrens L., Wiberg K., Hernández F., Oskarsson A., Lundqvist J. Effect-based evaluation of water quality in a system of indirect reuse of wastewater for drinking water production, Water Research, 120147, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2023.120147

Celma A., Dahlberg A.-K., Wiberg K. Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their derivatives in biochar treated stormwater, MethodsX, 102232, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2023.102232

Malnes D., Waara S., Figuière R., Ahrens L., Wiberg K., Köhler S.J., Golovko O. Hazard screening of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in Sweden’s three largest lakes and their associated rivers, Journal of Hazardous Materials, 453:131376, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131376

Smith S., Lauria M., Ahrens L., McCleaf P., Hollman P., Bjälkefur Seroka S., Hamers T., Arp H.P., Wiberg K. Electrochemical oxidation for treatment of PFAS in contaminated water and fractionated foam – A pilot-scale study, Environmental Science & Technology: Water, 3:1201-1211, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.2c00660

Caraccioloa R., Escher B.I., Lai F.Y., Nguyen T.A., Lee T.M.T, Schlichting R., Tröger R., Némery J., Wiberg K., Nguyene P.D., Baduel C. Impact of a megacity on the water quality of a tropical estuary assessed by a combination of chemical analysis and in-vitro bioassays, Science of the Total Environment, 877:162525, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162525

Smith S.J., Lewis J., Wiberg K., Wall E., Ahrens L. Foam fractionation for removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: Towards closing the mass balance, Science of the Total Environment, 871:162050, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162050

Menger F., Celma A., Schymanski E.L., Lai F.Y., Bijlsma L., Wiberg K., Hernández F., Sancho J.V., Ahrens L. Enhancing spectral quality in complex environmental matrices: Supporting suspect and non-target screening in zebra mussels with ion mobility, Environment International, 170:107585, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107585

Sörengård M., Bergström S., McCleaf P., Wiberg K., Ahrens L. Long-distance transport of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in a Swedish drinking water aquifer, Environmental Pollution, 119981, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119981

Nguyen M.A., Norström K., Wiberg K., Gustavsson J., Josefsson S., Ahrens L. Seasonal trends of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in river water affected by fire training sites and wastewater treatment plants, Chemosphere, 308(3):136467, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136467

Celma A., Gago-Ferrero P., Golovko O., Hernández F., Lai F.Y., Lundqvist J., Menger F., Sancho J.V., Wiberg K., Ahrens L., Bijlsma L. Are preserved coastal water bodies in Spanish Mediterranean basin impacted by human activity? Water quality evaluation using chemical and biological analyses. Environment International, 165:107326, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107326

Smith S.J., Wiberg K., McCleaf P., Ahrens L.  Pilot-scale continuous foam fractionation for the removal of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from landfill leachate, Environmental Science & Technology: Water, 2:841−851, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.2c00032

Golovko O., Ahrens L., Schelin J., Sörengård M., Bergstrand K.-J., Asp H., Hultberg M., Wiberg K. Organic micropollutants, heavy metals and pathogens in anaerobic digestate based on food waste, Journal of Environmental Management, 313:114997, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114997

Sörengård M., Kicuchi J., Wiberg K., Ahrens L. Spatial distribution and load of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in background soils in Sweden, Chemosphere 133944, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.133944

Dürig W., Alygizakis N.A., Wiberg K., Ahrens L. Application of a novel prioritisation strategy using non-target screening for evaluation of temporal trends (1969-2017) of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in archived lynx muscle tissue samples, Science of the Total Environment, 817:15303, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153035

Dürig W., Alygizakis N., Menger F., Golovko O., Wiberg K., Ahrens L. Novel prioritisation strategies for evaluation of temporal trends in archived white-tailed sea eagle muscle tissue in non-target screening, Journal of Hazardous Materials, 424:Part A:12733, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127331

Postigo C., Gil-Solsona R., Herrera-Batista M.F., Gago-Ferrero P., Alygizakis N., Ahrens L. Wiberg K. A step forward in the detection of byproducts of anthropogenic organic micropollutants in chlorinated water contaminants, Trends in Environmental Analytical Chemistry, 32:e00148, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teac.2021.e00148

Göransson G., Apler A., Dahlberg A.-K., Löfroth H., Josefsson S., Wiberg K., Frogner-Kockum P., Nylander P., Hedfors J., Snowball I. Assessing the risk of contaminant dispersion from fibrous sediments of industrial origin, Frontiers in Marine Science, 8:729243, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.729243

Titaley I.A., Lam M.M., Bülow R., Enell A., Wiberg K., Larsson M. Characterization of polycyclic aromatic compounds in historically contaminated soil by targeted and non-targeted chemical analysis combined with in vitro bioassay, Environmental Pollution, 117910, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117910

Menger F., Boström G., Jonsson O., Ahrens L., Wiberg K., Kreuger J., Gago-Ferrero P. Identification of pesticide transformation products in surface water using suspect screening combined with national monitoring data, Environmental Science & Technology, 55:15, 10343–10353, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c00466

Lai F.Y., Muziasari W., Virta M., Wiberg K., Ahrens L. Profiles of environmental antibiotic resistomes in the urban aquatic recipients of Sweden using high-throughput quantitative PCR analysis, Environmental Pollution, 117651, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117651

Haalck I., Löffler P., Baduel C., Wiberg K., Ahrens L., Lai F.Y. Mining chemical information in Swedish urban wastewaters: simultaneous assessment of population consumption, treatment efficiency and environmental discharge of illicit drugs, Scientific Reports, 11:13510, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-92915-4

Ivanova A., Wiberg K., Ahrens L., Zubcov E., Dahlberg A.-K. Spatial distribution of legacy pesticides in river sediment from the Republic of Moldova, Chemosphere, 279:130923, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130923

Celma A., Ahrens L., Gago-Ferrero P., Hernández F., López F., Lundqvist J., Pitarch E., Sancho J.V., Wiberg K., Bijlsma L. The relevant role of ion mobility separation in LC-HRMS based screening strategies for contaminants of emerging concern in the aquatic environment, Chemosphere, 280:130799, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130799

Tröger R., Ren H., Yin D., Postigo C., Nguyen P., Baduel C., Golovko O., Been F., Joerss H., Rosa Boleda M., Polesello S., Roncoroni M., Taniyasu S., Menger F., Ahrens L., Lai F.Y., Wiberg K. What’s in the water? – Target and suspect screening of contaminants of emerging concern in raw water and drinking water from Europe and Asia, Water Research, 198, 15:117099, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.117099

Dahlberg A.-K., Apler A., Frogner-Kockum P., Göransson G., Snowball I., Wiberg K., Josefsson S. Dispersal of persistent organic pollutants from fiber-contaminated sediments - biotic and abiotic pathways. Journal of Soils and Sediments, 21:1852-1865, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02871-1

Ullberg M., Lavonen E., Köhler S.J., Golovko O., Wiberg K. Pilot-scale removal of organic micropollutants and natural organic matter from drinking water using ozonation followed by granular activated carbon. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, 7:535, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0ew00933d

Menger F., Ahrens L., Wiberg K., Gago-Ferrero P. Suspect screening based on market data of polar halogenated micropollutants in river water affected by wastewater, Journal of Hazardous Materials, 401:123377, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123377

Postigo C., Andersson A., Harir M., Bastviken D., Gonisor M., Schmitt-Kopplin P., Gago-Ferrero P., Ahrens L., Ahrens L., Wiberg K. Unraveling the chemodiversity of halogenated disinfection by-products formed during drinking water treatment using target and non-target screening tools. Journal of Hazardous Material, 401:1236812021, 2021. https://doi.org10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.123681