£5.5 million research unit to investigate chemical health impacts in everyday life

A new £5.5 million research unit to investigate the health impacts of chemicals, air pollutants and noise that we are exposed to in our daily lives is to be established at the University of Leicester.

Led by researchers from the University’s Centre for Environmental Health and Sustainability, the new Health Protection Research Unit in Chemical Threats and Hazards aims to create a step-change in our ability to assess and monitor environmental exposures and risks to health.

The funding is part of £80 million announced by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) for research to protect the public from health threats including chemical hazards and air pollution. This includes long-term threats - such as antimicrobial resistance and climate change - and acute or emerging threats, such as pandemics and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear incidents. 

To do this, £77 million will fund 13 NIHR Health Protection Research Units (HPRUs) across the country from 1 April 2025. The HPRUs will form a key research element of the national health security infrastructure. 

The HPRUs are partnerships between UK universities and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). By delivering high-quality collaborative research, the HPRUs support UKHSA in its objective to protect the health of the public, enabling it to prepare for and respond to major or emerging health protection incidents, as well as building an evidence base for health protection policy and practice.  

Everyone is exposed to low levels of many chemicals in their daily lives, including pesticides, benzene, flame retardants and ‘forever chemicals’ (in textiles such as waterproof outdoor clothing and food packaging), also to metals such as lead. We also breathe in air pollutants including tiny fragments from brake and tyre wear and mould spores. For most of these exposures, we currently have limited understanding of how they affect health.

The HPRU in Chemical Threats and Hazards aims to strengthen existing UK systems to measure environmental exposures and understand how they affect the body. It will develop new technologies to detect chemicals in emergency situations and investigate whether environmental exposures affect the living organisms found in lungs, gut and skin, that support good health.

Professor Anna Hansell, Director of the new HPRU, said: “Little is currently known about if or how the chemicals we are exposed to every day impact our health, this HPRU will build evidence to protect public health.

“A vital part of the success of this HPRU will be the involvement of the public and patients, both of which helped shape the proposal, with concerns expressed about chemical exposure in the home, moulds, noise and air pollution. Our work will also consider people from a range of different social and cultural backgrounds to see if this affects being exposed and also if it increases risks to health.”

Founded in 2018, the vision of the Centre for Environmental Health and Sustainability is to improve human health and the health of the environment through cutting edge multidisciplinary research in a changing world. In 2020, it received a Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) Development Award in Environmental Exposures and Health, a partnership with the UK Health Security Agency and the Health and Safety Executive focusing on health effects from exposures in the built environment.

The partnership has helped build a strong track record in developing evidence to support environmental policy, from investigating whether chemical exposures in people with asthma affects symptoms, examining if adding fluoride to water to reduce tooth decay might have wider impacts on health, to the measurement of chemical emissions from 3D printers to develop guidance on safe use in homes and schools. Most recently, the team was acknowledged for their work estimating the impact of transport noise on the health of the nation with a ‘Noise Oscar’ from the Noise Abatement Society.

The Centre has established strong relationships with organisations in the region to conduct relevant research, including the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) working with University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester City and Leicestershire County Council. It is part of the British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence and the University of Leicester Institute of Environmental Futures.

Minister for Public Health and Prevention Andrew Gwynne said: “This vital research funding will help ensure that the government’s readiness to respond to these health threats is fit for the future.

“From pandemic preparedness and antimicrobial resistance to air pollution and climate change, these research units will look at long-term and emerging health threats - bolstering the nation’s health security research infrastructure.

“One of the three core shifts in our 10-Year Health Plan is from treatment to prevention, and protecting public health is essential to this.”

Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care and CEO of the NIHR, said: “In the 10 years since the Health Protection Research Units scheme first launched, the NIHR has delivered significant research to aid the government as it seeks to protect the public from heath threats. Working alongside the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), this new investment will build on this legacy and advance high quality research on key issues from climate change and antimicrobial resistance to future pandemics.”

Dr Carolina Arevalo, Deputy Director for Research, Evidence and Knowledge at the UK Health Security Agency, said: “It’s fantastic to see this investment in health protection science, supporting our ability to protect our communities from infectious diseases and the impact of chemical, radiological and other environmental health hazards. The Health Protection Research Units bring together expertise from academia and UKHSA to generate the evidence which enhances our ability to protect the public from health threats we are facing now and in the future.”