Professor Anna Stec
Anna Stec is Professor of Fire Chemistry and Toxicity here. She has undertaken research into fires and fire effluents, including quantification of toxic hazards from fires, and understanding the factors that affect the short- and long-term toxicity of fire smoke and residues. She co-edited the major reference book in this area, 鈥淔ire Toxicity鈥 and has around 100 peer-reviewed publications on persistent organic pollutants (POPs), fire chemistry and toxicity and firefighters鈥 health.
Prof Stec presented evidence to the UK Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee on “Toxic chemicals in everyday life”. She served on an expert panel for Dame Judith Hackitt’s Review of Building Regulations. She was an invited expert to the Scientific Advisory Group working on the Grenfell Tower soil contamination study. As an expert witness to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Prof Stec undertook an investigation to determine the fire-derived toxicants and related deposits present in the Tower to determine the extent to which construction product effluents penetrated the Tower.
Recently, she was invited by the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to be a member of the Chemistry of Urban Wildfires Committee. She has also served as Invited Specialist on the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monographs on the Identification of Carcinogenic Hazards to Humans, Volume 132: Occupational Exposure as a Firefighter. Currently, she is also leading a research project, co-funded by the Fire Brigades Union, to identify the causes and rates of cancers amongst UK firefighters. She serves also on several scientific and conference programme committees and journal editorial boards.
- PhD (Fire Chemistry and Toxicity), Centre for Materials Research and Innovation, University of Bolton, UK, 2007
- MSc (Eng) (Chemistry with Polymer Technology) Department of Chemistry and Polymer Technology, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland, 2003
- Prof Stec鈥檚 research work is truly multidisciplinary. It covers a full range of expertise from fire combustion to medicine embracing chemistry, biology, health and environmental sciences. The particular areas of expertise are:
- Analytical chemistry
- Occupational toxicology
- Environmental toxicity
- Fire chemistry
- Fire toxicity
- Chartered Chemist (CChem), Royal Society of Chemistry
- Chartered Scientist (CSci), The Science Council
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC)
- Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers (FIFireE)
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
- Member of International Association for Fire Safety Science
Research:
- More information on Professor Stec's research can be found on our Centre for Fire and Hazards Sciences page.
Key publications:
- Books: Fire Toxicity Edited by A.A Stec and T.R. Hull, Woodhead Publishing, 2010
- Report: Minimising firefighters' exposure to toxic fire effluents -Interim Best Practice Report, An Independent report commissioned by Fire Brigades Union, 2020 , an independent report commissioned by Fire Brigades Union, 2020
- Grenfell Tower Fire: Toxic Effluents and Assessment of Firefighters' Health Impacts, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2024
- Grenfell Tower Fire: Firefighters' Activities and Their Exposure to Fire Smoke and Heat, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2024
- Scottish Firefighters Occupational Cancer and Disease Mortality Rates: 2000-2020, Occupational Medicine, 2023, 73(1), pp. 42–48
- Cancer incidence amongst UK firefighters, Scientific Reports, 2022, 12(1), 22072.
Use the links below to view their profiles:
- Centre for Fire and Hazards Science
- UK Firefighters Cancer and Disease Registry
- Minimising firefighters' exposure to toxic fire effluents
- The circumstances leading up to and surrounding the fire at Grenfell Tower
- Environmental impact of fire residues
- Quantify the influence of fire effluents and residues on indoor air quality
- Fire Brigades Union 鈥淔irefighter Lethal Diseases and Methods for their Prevention鈥
- EU FP7 NMP (NMP.2012.1.3-1) "Development of safer and more Eco-friendly flame Retardant materials based on CNT co-additives for Commodity Applications" (DEROCA)
- EU COST Action FLARETEX (COST Action number MP1105) "Sustainable flame retardancy for textiles and related materials based on nanoparticles substituting conventional chemicals"
- EPSRC 鈥淢easurement and Prediction of Fire Smoke Toxicity of Materials in Enclosures鈥
Telephone:+44 (0) 1772 893759
Email: Email:Professor Anna Stec
Use the links below to view their profiles: