Degrees:

S.B. and S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ph.D. , University of Minnesota

Phone: (204) 786-9335
Fax: (204) 775-2114
email: ch.wong@uwinnipeg.ca

Teaching Specialties:

ENV 2604/3 Environment and Health
CHEM/ENV 3611/3 Environmental Toxicology
CHEM 4303/3 Analytical Separations
CHEM 7450 Environmental Organic Chemistry (graduate)
CHEM 7450 Environmental Toxicology (graduate)

Research Interests:

My research interests are in the area of environmental chemistry, and focus on elucidating the fate, behavior, and effects of anthropogenic compounds in the environment. A thorough understanding of how chemical pollutants move, react, and persist in the environment is crucial for finding solutions to the risks they may pose to the public, to wildlife, and to environmental resources. Of particular interest are chemicals that are widely produced and released as a result of human activity, and/or chemicals that bioaccumulate up aquatic and terrestrial food webs that are globally distributed from long-range transport.

A major area of research is the environmental chemistry of chiral organic pollutants. Many xenobiotic compounds are optically active: both legacy chemicals such as DDT, chlordanes and other chlorinated pesticides, and some PCB congeners; as well as current-use chemicals such as modern agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, and metabolites. Enantiomers of these chemicals generally undergo the same physical and chemical processes in the environment, but may have different biochemical and toxicological effects due to differential interactions with other chiral molecules (i.e., enzymes in living organisms).

We have developed analytical techniques to measure enantiomeric composition of chiral pollutants in complex environmental compartments (e.g., natural waters, sediments, foods, biological tissues, waste streams) via chiral GC, multidimensional GC, HPLC, and capillary electrophoresis, usually coupled to mass spectrometric (MS or tandeom MS) detection for sensitivity and selectivity. These techniques are applied both in laboratory and field settings to understand stereoselective biotransformation and toxicological effects of chiral chemicals in the environment, and implications these may have on the ultimate fate of persistent pollutants.

Another research area is the environmental occurrence and fate of emerging classes of environmental pollutants, including current-use agrochemicals, fluorinated surfactants, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pollutant metabolites, and engineered nanomaterials. These chemicals are often heavily used in household or industrial applications, and may survive treatment when they are disposed and thus enter the environment. In general, little is known about the fate and transport of many such compounds, or of toxic effects.

Our research interests for emerging pollutants include development of new and better techniques to measure these chemicals at trace concentrations of parts-per-trillion and below (e.g., passive sampling, microextraction) in very complex environmental matrices such as wastewaters, surface waters, and biological tissues. We also apply these techniques to understand environmental processes and effects of these compounds.

Selected Publications:

Asher BJ, Wang Y, De Silva AO, Backus S, Muir DCG, Wong CS, Martin JW (2012).  Enantiospecific perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) analysis reveals evidence for the source contribution of PFOS-precursors to the Lake Ontario foodweb.  Environ. Sci. Technol. 46, 7653-7660.  hotlink = http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es301160r

 Zhang B-Z, Zhang K, Li S-M, Wong CS, Zeng EY (2012).  Size-dependent dry deposition of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in urban Guangzhou, China.  Environ. Sci. Technol. 46, 7207-7214.  hotlink = http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es300944a

Asher BJ, Ross MS, Wong CS (2012).  Tracing chiral polychlorinated biphenyls near a hazardous waste incinerator:  Fresh emissions or weathered revolatilization?  Environ Toxicol Chem 31, 1453-1460.  hotlink = http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/etc.1852

Lu Z, Wong CS (2011).  Factors affecting Phase I enantioselective biotransformation of chiral polychlorinated biphenyls by rat cytochrome P-450 isozyme.  Environ Sci Technol 45, 8298-8305.  hotlink =http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/es200673q

Ross MS, Wong CS (2010).  Comparison of electrospray ionization, atmospheric pressure photoionization, and anion attachment atmospheric pressure photoionization for the analysis of hexabromocyclododecane enantiomers in environmental samples.  J Chromatogr A 1217, 7855-7863.  hotlink = http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2010.09.083

MacLeod SL, Wong CS (2010).  Loadings, trends, comparisons, and fate of achiral and chiral pharmaceuticals in wastewaters from urban tertiary and rural aerated lagoon treatments.  Wat Res 44, 533-544.  hotlink = http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2009.09.056