The project, supported by the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, focuses upon Budapest and its commuting zone (Budapest Metropolitan Region), where more than 3.2 million people live and use the highly urbanized area intensively. In this region, our researchers examine the spatial movement, accumulation, decomposition and entrapment of endocrine disruptors (EDCs) found in treated and untreated sewage. As researchers know, these materials (e.g. toxic heavy metals, hormones, certain SSRI antidepressants) can be risky for the ecosystem and people incorporating into the food chain.

During the basic research, the concentration of EDCs will be measured in the complete cycle of water in the urban and suburban area, and the way of these toxic materials will be analysed, modelled and mapped. Applied research and experimental development aim to evolve new prevention and sewage treatment methods and techniques to reduce the concentration of EDCs.