Themed collection Recent Open Access Articles

Characterizing the degradation behavior of chemicals in the environment is a key component of chemical hazard and risk assessment.

A more ubiquitous use of process-based models will enhance the information gained from biogeochemical experimentation through both, a more rigorous interpretation of acquired data and the optimal design of future experiments.

While per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of synthetic organic substances with diverse structures, properties, uses, bioaccumulation potentials and toxicities, nearly all PFAS are highly persistent.

Bacteria degrading 1,2,3-trichloropropane were constructed by genetic engineering and may be applicable for groundwater bioremediation, following the example of 1,2-dichloroethane.

A multi-disciplinary perspective on connecting chemistry, exposure and medical information to “neurotoxicity” for mass spectrometry-based environmental assessment, including multiple interactive resources for readers to use and explore.

High persistence has important implications for chemicals regulation and management.

Applying POP screening to a large chemical domain requires less reliance on individual criteria and more on integrated assessment with models.

Lead (Pb) has been used in human civilization for centuries, but the quantity and source of Pb pollution released into the environment varies spatially and temporally. Ice cores and snowpits are an excellent record of past Pb use.

The distribution of trace elements (TEs) in the bituminous sands is dichotomous: V, Ni, Mo, Se and Re are found predominantly in the bitumen fraction, and all other TEs in the mineral fraction.

Biodegradable plastic degradation in soils is highly complex. Without effective management, degradation poses potential risks to environmental and human health, soil quality, food security and safety, and environmental sustainability.

This review summarizes PFAS reproductive toxicity in five model organisms, highlighting gonadal damage, hormone disruption, and transgenerational effects, to support model selection and future research strategies.

The production and use of PFAS in some countries, coupled with uncertainties about their applications across Asia, underscore the urgent need to assess human exposure.

Tire wear particle emissions in the environment have low risk prioritization. This has been estimated from data on terrestrial and aquatic exposure and hazard. The risk of tire leachables is not yet known due to inconsistency in hazard data.

Microplastics represent a group of emerging environmental contaminants widely recognized for their potential impacts on human health, particularly concerning the pathogenesis of cancer.

This review analyses data on heavy metal contamination in wastewater-irrigated vegetables across four developing Asian countries, highlighting metal accumulation patterns, health impacts, regulatory gaps and calls for urgent coordinated action.

Antimony (Sb) has gained increased attention over the past few decades due to its possible detrimental effects on biota and its potential to leach and disperse from contaminated soils.

Microcontaminants and microplastics are released at every stage of production and use and end up in wastewater treatment plants and eventually in surface waters.

This work introduces the reader to machine learning principles and highlights its usage in examining microplastics in soil samples.

The critical review scrutinizes some of the public statements on fluorinated gases and gives a detailed overview of the available alternatives to fluorinated gases used as refrigerants.

Optical surrogates are used to characterize dissolved organic matter composition like aromaticity and molecular weight. We both review the genesis of surrogate-composition relationships and critically evaluate additional supporting evidence.

The Galician rías (NW Iberia, Spain) are responsible for most of the national shellfish production. This is the first review of red tides in that area including an historical overview, social challenges and proposals for improving their monitoring.

Recent findings on oxidized organic compounds in the atmosphere and analytical methodologies for their detection and quantification.

PFAS are widely used in lithium-ion batteries, which may be problematic for the rapidly growing battery recycling industry.

Approaches to regulatory assessment and management of polymers are reviewed and opportunities for improvements are highlighted based on a critical appraisal of current science on their environmental fate and effects.

Time series of contaminants in the Arctic are an important instrument to detect emerging issues and to monitor the effectiveness of chemicals regulation. Climate change can affect the link between primary emissions and concentrations in Arctic wildlife.

Direct and indirect effects of climate change influence contaminant sources, transport, re-distribution and circulation in the physical environment of the Arctic. Linkages of such observations to Arctic ecosystem exposure and effects are needed.

Global climate change-driven shifts in physical and ecological processes may alter POPs concentrations in Arctic food webs.

Future climate change in the Arctic will lead to loss of ice, snow and permafrost, increasing human activity and development, and changes in wind and ocean circulation patterns, that could alter the pathways, distribution and fate of contaminants.

This review covers 40 laboratory- and plot-scale wildfire and rainfall simulation experiments which focus on wildfire hydrologic and water quality effects, guiding future researchers in the optimal design of their own simulation experiments.

Our critical review compares ARG profiles in the atmosphere across different locations and discusses characterization methods, atmospheric transport, and future research questions.

Synthetic fibre release is an important source of microplastics to agricultural soils, through the application of sewage sludge. Microplastics are potential vectors for the transport of sorbed metal(loid)s from wastewater to soils and organisms.

Pathways of human exposure to MPs and associated risks.

With polystyrene nanoparticles being widely used in various applications, there is a great need for deeper knowledge on the safety, fate and biological effects of these particles on both individual living organisms and the whole ecosystems.

A synoptic review of aquatic plastics research from Australia, the United Kingdom and China is presented, highlighting (a) key research and management challenges, and (b) a need to converge on standardised methods and bioindicator species to make global comparisons more reliable.

The essential-use concept is a tool that can guide the phase-out of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and potentially other harmful substances of concern.

The fate of plastic in the ocean is influenced by physical, chemical and biological stressors. These cause fragemntation and the formation of micro and nanoplastics but also degradation of plastics.

The presence of pigments in microplastics alters the photodegradation kinetics of sorbed anthracene, which warrants consideration of microplastic colour in future environmental assessment studies of microplastic-contaminant systems.

The changes in the secondary structure of albumin after incubation with particulate matter (PM) fractions of different compositions were studied, revealing a significant increase of the β-sheets in the presence of the metallic PM.

This novel investigation revealed substantial PFAS contamination and plastic-PFAS co-occurrence in yard waste compost. Insights gained from the distribution of PFAS in compost are valuable for improving its management and application.

The first step towards the urgently needed standardization of EOF methods for PFAS-total assessment is presented in this interlaboratory study.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) used as food contact materials, textiles, and toys, leaches a variety of plastic additives.

CaO and Ca(OH)₂ are the optimal choice of lime materials for addressing acidification and mitigating GHG emissions compared with CaCO₃.

PFAS concentrations in firefighter turnout gear exhibited distinct layer trends and compositional differences across classes, influenced by sampling location, gear use, and aging.

Real-time measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) reveal the chemical fingerprints of cooking chili, curry and stir fry, offering insights into emission dynamics and their impact on indoor air quality.

Most trace elements in the filterable fraction of snow are predominantly <300 Da, but their concentrations are extremely low.

This study unravels the fate of Cd during the weathering of Cd-bearing sphalerite in acidic and alkaline soils, providing insight into the mobility of Cd in soils affected by mining activities around carbonate-hosted Zn-sulfide ore deposits.

Improved residence time distribution, high transmission efficiency for gases and particles and tunable oxidant exposure.

A 17–20 months aging of TRWP by sunlight and in a sedimentation pond shows pronounced loss of extractable chemicals and changes in composition, from parent compounds to transformation products. But considerable residues of extractables remained.

Models have different merits and limitations, and partition ratio predictions frequently differ >5 orders of magnitude. In general, to address uncertainty reliable experimental data are required for PFAS, ionizable, and large complex chemicals.

The partition coefficients and vapor pressures of 23 drug molecules are calculated using advanced quantum mechanical methods to better assess their behavior in environmental compartments.

Minimal research exists on the environmental impact of hydroelectricity in permafrost areas. This study reports increases in methylmercury in flooded soils, surface waters and first trophic levels following impoundment.

Passive air sampling enabled targeted characterization of semi-volatile pollutants and endocrine disrupting activities impacting two industrialized cities in Ontario, Canada.

This study reveals species-specific variations, across chemical partition space, in the required critical biotransformation half-life to avoid biomagnification and presents a weight-of-evidence approach with a focus on biotransformation.

Artisanal gold mining in Burkina Faso contaminates soil with mercury (Hg). Once eroded into rivers, Hg bound to amorphous iron oxides is likely to undergo methylation.

Molecular docking for high throughput screening binding of chemicals to functional protein related to health impact.

Synthetic 2-line ferrihydrite amendment reduces arsenic uptake and accumulation in two varieties of rice grown in flooded paddy soils.

This study quantifies how surfactant-rich environments can alter the degradation kinetics of organic pollutants.

Agricultural soils, particularly those utilizing plastic products for crop production, are increasingly recognized as sources of microplastics (MPs) to aquatic ecosystems.

Natural organic ligand-induced dissolution of Mn oxides contributes to the pH- and time dependent formation of organically complexed, dissolved trivalent Mn in forest soils, and thus terrestrial environments.

Triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) forms covalent protein adducts, with the binding being protein and structure selective, making this a likely mechanism of toxicity.

While our extended pesticide soil monitoring under potato cultivation confirms generally shorter half-lives under tropical conditions, the corresponding residues might still pose a risk to terrestrial ecosystems.

Quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) spectroscopy holds strong potential for environmental microplastic analysis, contingent on addressing the challenge of quantifying aged synthetic microplastics.

Sunlight breaks down dissolved organic matter (DOM) in lakes and streams to produce carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas). The efficiency of this process depends on light exposure, the aromatic content of DOM (i.e., Ar–C), and dissolved iron (Fe).

There are increasing concerns about the human and environmental health impacts of plastic exposure, which includes the risks associated with plastic additives.

Nylon membrane filters are chemically selective sorbents for passive sampling atmospheric acids, such as perfluorinated carboxylic acids.

REE fluxes from rivers into the Hudson Bay and Atlantic Ocean in Quebec reveal regional contrasts, with fluxes to the Atlantic 2.7 times higher, partly due to erosion. REE levels were influenced by dissolved organic carbon, iron, pH and temperature.

The immobilization effect of sulfhydryl-grafted palygorskite on soil-available Cd demonstrated environmental stability, confirmed by chemical exposure and sorption, simulated acid rain leaching, thermal variation, and two-year field validation.

Total degradation of commercial biodegradable glitter in purified and seawater was not achieved after 96 days.

The complexation of Pu(IV) to hydrated ferrihydrite surfaces was studied using the DFT+U approach. Results show that Pu(IV) binds strongly via the formation of multiple partially covalent Pu–O bonds, in good agreement with experimental findings.

This research integrates the volatility basis-set model with CFD to improve understanding of secondary organic aerosol formation near indoor occupants.