Photo of Henrik Kylin

Henrik Kylin

Professor

Dr Kylin works with environmental chemistry and toxicology on a global, regional, and local level, “commuting” between Arctica and Antarctica. The goal is to understand the environmental fate of chemicals.

Environmental Chemistry from pole to pole 

Dr Henrik Kylin work with environmental chemistry and toxicology on global, regional, and local levels. His research concerns how chemicals, real and potential environmental toxins, behave in the environment and how they affect environmental and human health. Dr Kylin is fortunate in that his works takes him from pole to pole, from Arctica to Antarctica, but have during later years concentrated more and more on environmental research in developing countries along the equator since he is drawn to research in to better the living conditions in developing countries. 

Environmental chemistry concerns the understanding of how chemicals behave in the environment, and has close ties to research areas such as environmental toxicology and ecotoxicology. We talk about environmental pollutants, i.e., chemicals found where they have no natural reason to be, and environmental toxins, environmental pollutants with known toxic effects on human or environmental health.  Dr Kylin's research ranges from pure analytical chemistry – the art of measuring the concentration of different chemicals in environmental samples – over physical and chemical investigations of the properties of environmental pollutants, to investigation of how toxic a chemical is to humans and the environment. It is important to remember that a chemical that might be regarded harmless to humans may still have negative ecosystem effects. To Dr Kylin it is, therefore, important to understand not only the chemistry, but also the biological background to environmental problems. 

Polar research 

Dr Kylin's PhD project concerned how to use pine needles to track how environmental pollutants disperse in the atmosphere. It was, therefore, a short step to expand these studies to the Polar Regions – I have spent more than two years on icebreakers in Arctica and Antarctica. The reason why the Polar Regions are contaminated with pollutants that never have been used there is, in principle, a global version of what happens when you take a cold ice cream tub out of the freezer a warm summers day. Because the cold air close to the surface of the ice cream tub can hold less water vapour than the warm air further away, a layer of frost soon forms on the surface of the tub. Even though it might be difficult to understand intuitively that a white powder that you can hold in you hand, e.g., DDT, can be transported via air, most environmental pollutants are present in the gas phase and may be transported to the Polar Regions where they will be deposited similarly to the water vapour on the surface of the ice cream tub.

Agricultural research

Dr Kylin's first job after completing his PhD was at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences where he was charged with developing the laboratory for current-use pesticides, the pesticides we use today, scientifically. Current-use pesticides are important environmental contaminants as they are the only chemicals we actively spread in the environment to kill unwanted organisms. In spite of this, they have been cursory treated in Swedish environmental research. In addition to developing relevant analytical methods an study the behaviour of current-use pesticides in Sweden, we managed to get current-use pesticides included into the Swedish national environmental monitoring programme. Previously, the environmental monitoring programme in Sweden had only been concerned with chemicals that we had already banned.

Development research

Lately, research in developing countries has taken more and more of my time. Dr Kylin's interest is driven by the fact that the environmental problems in many developing countries are much larger than in industrialized countries, not least because of poorly developed environmental authorities. Much time has been spent developing laboratories and local environmental competence. Such competence is necessary not only for local national development, but also because international trade treaties require countries exporting agricultural or fisheries produce to be able to test for residues of environmental contaminants to meet the maximum residue requirements of the importing countries.
Dr Kylin have also worked much with the environmental and human health effects of malaria vector control. In this research, we meet several difficult ethical problems as malaria in itself is a major problem; there is a difficult balance between malaria – a definite killer – and the environmental and health problems that are caused by malaria vector control. We have to fight malaria, but at the same time, we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that the methods we use to fight malaria might cause problems for both humans and the environment.
Overall, Dr Kylin see it as an obligation for him as a chemist to contribute with what he can to the development of poor countries, and that that development can be done with as much consideration for environmental problems as possible.

Other

Dr Kylin's basic thought is that you cannot understand environmental problems without understanding both chemistry and biology. Even if his profession is chemistry, he have a deep interest in biology that has often been useful when he have been in the field for sampling. Apart from his publication in chemistry, he have published purely biological papers concerning different organism groups such as birds, plants, slime moulds, and tardigrades.


Teaching

Teaches on the bachelors’ programme in environmental science masters’ programme Science for Sustainable Development. Various lectures in environmental chemistry on courses and programmes at other departments and other universities.
Dr Kylin has given courses, usually over two weeks on environmental chemistry/toxicology/ecotoxicology on all academic levels (undergraduate to postgraduate) in Africa (four times), SE Asia (twice), and C America (once).



Publications

2024

Anna Andersson, Leanne Powers, Mourad Harir, Michael Gonsior, Norbert Hertkorn, Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin, Henrik Kylin, Daniel Hellstrom, Amma Pettersson, David Bastviken (2024) Molecular level seasonality of dissolved organic matter in freshwater and its impact on drinking water treatment Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, Vol. 10, p. 1964-1981 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Velesia Lesch, Henrik Kylin, Hindrik Bouwman (2024) The Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis as a near-global indicator of terrestrial pollution ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY AND ECOTOXICOLOGY, Vol. 6, p. 15-25 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI
Florence Nantaba, John Wasswa, Henrik Kylin, Hindrik Bouwman, Wolf -Ulrich Palm, Klaus Kummerer (2024) Spatial trends and ecotoxic risk assessment of selected pharmaceuticals in sediments from Lake Victoria, Uganda, East Africa Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 906, Article 167348 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI

Research

News

CV

Academic qualifications 

  • 2011 Professor, Environmental Change, Linköping University
  • 2005-2011 (part time 2005-2009) Full Professor, Environmental Chemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences 
  • 2005-2009 (part time) Senior Researcher, Environmental Chemistry, Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Polar Environment Centre, Tromsø. 
  • 1999 Docent, Environmental assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences 
  • 1995 Researcher, Environmental Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences 
  • 1994 PhD Environmental chemistry, Stockholm University.
  • 1988 Assistant professor/director of studies, analytical chemistry, Stockholm University. 
  • 1985 Honour’s degree, analytical chemistry, Stockholm University 

Membership in professional societies 

  • Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 
  • International Association for Great Lakes Research 
  • American Chemical Society 
  • Swedish Chemical Society

Wide international research collaboration. Networks for development research in Africa, SE Asia, C America. Network for Arctic research in Canada, Norway, Russia, and for Antarctic research in the USA, Norway, the Netherlands, and Chile.

Assignments

  • Frequent evaluator of research proposals and research position application in developing countries.
  • Member of the scientific reference board of the International Programmes in Chemical Sciences since 2011 
  • Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Lake Victoria Research Initiative 2003-2009. 
  • Advisor to 18 PhD-students, of which 12 in developing countries.

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