Clarifying water pollution urgency and research in Madrid by Dr. Ishai Dror

In September, Dr. Ishai Dror, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, in the lab of Prof. Brian Berkowitz, Weizmann Institute of Science, shared his research at the scientific conference which was organized by Confederación de Sociedades Científicas de España (COSCE), on Society Day (Jornada de Sociedades COSCE 2024), in partnership with the Fundación Ramón Areces. The topic of discussion was “Challenges for the future of water”.

At the conference, Dr. Dror shared how vast the water pollution issue is, with pollutants ranging from nano plastics to pharmaceuticals and beyond. He shared that, for example, even a tea bag releases nearly 12 billion microplastics and another 3 billion nano plastics after just a few minutes in hot water. Meaning, this issue concerns all of us.

Dr. Dror addressed the urgency to expand research into the effects of these contaminants over a large period. He noted that since the production of plastic only began in the 1950s, we are still in the dark on their effects in the long run. He shared the need to detect water pollutant contaminants at very low concentrations, since many nano plastics are almost imperceptible. He also urged the need to change the way these pollutants are regulated since there are still not enough information.

He mentioned that as history has proven, it is likely that there are many unknowns, however research is the way to discover new insights and ensure that we have control over the situation.

In addition to the Society Day conference, Dr. Ishai Dror had the great opportunity to meet with board members of the Spanish Society of Friends of the Weizmann Institute of Science, including Chair Ruben Lerner.

See below for the exclusive interview of Dr. Ishai Dror by Diaro ABC Madrid

Photography from the COSCE conference