Rebekka Baumgartner

Rebekka Baumgartner is a Scientific Officer (Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin) at the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (Bundesamt für Umwelt, BAFU).12 She works in the Biocides and Plant Protection Products section of BAFU, where her responsibilities include:

Role and Responsibilities

• Assessing the risks of biocidal products for humans and the environment1
• Participating in European workshops to develop environmental software used in the approval and risk assessment of biocides1
• Collaborating with other European countries to evaluate biocidal products1
• Reviewing applications for new products, with hundreds of applications submitted annually1

Expertise

Baumgartner is an environmental scientist by training.1 Her areas of expertise include:

• Biocides and their environmental impacts
• Risk assessment of chemical products
• European regulations on biocides and plant protection products

Education

Rebekka Baumgartner received her education from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, ETH Zurich).23

Research Background

Prior to her current role, Baumgartner was involved in research at ETH Zurich. Her research interests included:

• Hydrogenation
• Heterogeneous catalysis
• Reaction kinetics
• Kinetic modeling3

Baumgartner has contributed to scientific publications, including work on the biodegradation of poly(butylene succinate) in soil laboratory incubations.4

Her current work at BAFU involves applying her scientific background to the practical regulation and assessment of chemical products, particularly biocides, to ensure their safe use and minimize environmental impacts.