The lecture provides an overview on the behavior and effects of anthropogenic particles in the environment, covering engineered nanoparticles, micro/nanoplastics, tire wear, soot and pigments. The course will cover key concepts of particle behavior and analysis, fate in technical and natural systems, toxicity and environmental risk assessment and sustainability aspects and regulation.

The ability to critically evaluate original (scientific) literature and to summarise the information in a succinct manner is an important skill for any student. This course aims to practice this ability, requiring each student to write a term paper of scientific quality on a topic of relevance for research in the areas of biogeochemistry and pollutant dynamics.

This class is the 2nd part of a series and participation is conditional on the successful completion of "Term Paper 1: Writing". The results from the term paper written during the previous term are presented to the other students and advisors and discussed with the audience.