Themed collection Contaminant remediation and fate

Based on the reciprocity principle, this study evaluated the release and accumulation kinetics of microplastics from films, by developing an empirical model that linked the degradation performance of films under light with their molecular structure.

The state of the art of existing/published work in the prediction of environmental degradation of pesticides by EC-MS/EC-LC-MS coupling was reviewed. Ways to improve EC-MS techniques in the prediction of environmental degradation were proposed.

New approaches to better characterize chemical contamination from hydraulic fracturing of shale and other permeable rock formations for improved risk-based management are presented.

Effective remediation of a range of Difficult-to-Measure Radionuclides (DTMRs) in groundwater is needed to meet nuclear site end-state targets. This paper reviews recent developments in remediation of problem DTMRs, focusing on on-site application.

Deepwater Horizon oil was exposed to sunlight in the Gulf of Mexico, changing its composition and behavior.

This critical review presents the best remedy to protect human health by efficient materials-based air filters that can be used to air-purify and kill the dangerous SARS-CoV-2 virus and remove the other air pollutants.

Distribution of PPCPs in the African, Asian, European, and North and South American continents is presented and discussed.

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.

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.

Reactive nitrogen species (RNS) pose a potential risk to drinking water quality because they react with organic compounds to form toxic byproducts.

Hundreds of review studies have been published focusing on microplastics (MPs) and their environmental impacts.

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.

PFASs used in food packaging have the potential to contaminate the environment and numerous parts of the waste stream.

We discovered a biological mechanism supporting microbial degradation of bio-based poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) plastic in soils under ambient and future climates.

The meta-method was used to analyze the impact of soil sieving particle size on the unit stabilisation efficiency of heavy metals.

Microplastics (MPs) pollution is a major issue in aquatic environments.

Fungal communities within bioretention cells were diverse, including taxa capable of biodegrading recalcitrant contaminants, and influenced by plant type. Fungal functional genes demonstrate bioremediation potential in stormwater infrastructure.

Chemical profiling of artificial turf crumb rubber reveals time-based trends in transformation products and transport pathways.

Galaxolide (HHCB) is the most common synthetic musk compound detected in numerous daily products.

Atmospheric aging enhances levels of fine particulate matter from road traffic and residential heating of current exhaust emission standards.

Polyethylene mulch films (MFs) are widely employed in agricultural land to enhance crop yield and quality, but the MF residue causes significant environmental concerns.

The presence of microplastics in honey samples from a native Brazilian bee varied from 0.1 to 2.6 particles per mL across urban and vegetated areas.

When water accommodated fractions made from burned and unburned oil were exposed to light, burning of crude oil removes some, but not all toxic compounds, leaving behind compounds of considerable toxicity.

This study confirms encapsulation of nontreated and humic acid treated polystyrene and polyethylene microplastics into aragonite, main building block of coral skeleton.

Wavelength-dependent Φ_λ of uridine, atrazine, PNA, sulfamethoxazole, and diclofenac were determined, which can be used to characterize and model the photodegradation of chemicals of interest.

Adsorption of different organic pollutants by three microplastics before and after weathering.

Tire wear particles and nickel have detrimental effects on plant health by causing blockage and altering nutrient hemotasis, ultimately reducing plant yield.

Runoff from a destroyed town following a large wildland-urban interface wildfire transported metals into adjacent watersheds.

This study investigates the concentrations, sources, and ecological and human health risks from exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils of rural communities around gas flaring points in Delta State, Nigeria.

Co-existing silica prolongs the stability of mixed valence iron minerals like green rust and magnetite, effectively immobilizing arsenic in anoxic environments.

Biodegradation of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) in compost environment enriched with iron, and gelatin significantly enhanced microbial enzymatic activity, thus accelerating PLA degradation at mesophilic conditions (home/backyard composting setting).

In mercury-contaminated soils, mercury sulfides (HgS) occur as nanoparticles in mineral surface coatings. The coatings are composed of ferrihydrite and its replacement by goethite results in the release of the HgS nanoparticles.

Dibasic esters, indoor air pollutants emitted from furniture coatings, readily adsorb to surfaces thus initially decreasing their gas phase concentrations but then slowly desorb leading to possible long term exposure.

Methylmercury (MeHg) continues to pose a significant global health risk to wildlife and humans through fish consumption.

Microplastics, especially aged microplastics can become vectors of metals from environment to organisms with potential negative effects on food chain.

The overall abundance of microplastics in water was 3.05 ± 1.16 items per L and in sediment was 0.15 ± 0.06 items per g dw. The pollution load index and the potential ecological hazards of microplastics in most sites are at a low level.

Quantitative structure–property relationships (QSPRs) can be used for the prediction of breakthrough of chemicals from wastewater treatment plants. These QSPRs are simple, interpretable, and checked both for overfitting and chance relationships.

Estimation of dermal bioaccessibility and characterization of listed-ingredient and residual per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in cosmetic products.

This study assesses the environmental impact of the fluoropolymer industry in Europe by making an inventory of their emissions of PFASs and other fluorinated organic substances.

Removal of atrazine and glyphosate from aqueous medium.

Treated wastewater effluent is a major contributor to concentrations of many anthropogenic chemicals in the environment.

The results suggest that atmospheric transformation can significantly change the hazard properties of LCMs, emphasizing the importance of atmospheric transformation when evaluating the hazards of LCMs.

To our knowledge, this study is the first to assess the effects of surface water particle content on human norovirus decay rate constants, which will be useful parameters in fate and transport models.

Cyanobacterial extracellular substances (CES) could promote the development of ARGs. CES could change the structure of a bacterial community and enrich ARB.

Nanoplastics (NPs) have been widely detected in soil–groundwater systems.

The remediation of heavy metal contaminated environments and related mechanisms in a comprehensive manner using metal-based nanomaterials can provide a useful resource for academic as well as industrial researchers.

Saline water increases aggregation and interfacial accumulation of PFAS found in AFFF mixtures, having the potential to affect retention during transport at or near coastal contamination sites.

It is possible that cation–π interactions with heterocyclic N structures is the primary mechanism for the sorption of Pb to biochar, highlighting the importance of feedstock nitrogen content to create biochars with a high Pb sorption capacity.

Assessing ecological risks associated with the use of genetically modified RNA interference crops demands an understanding of the fate of crop-released insecticidal double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules in soils.

Inspired by the adhesion characteristics of mussels, this paper proposed an antifouling strategy of using antioxidants to remove ROS.

Mass loss and increases in carbonyl index proceeded more rapidly in polypropylene and low-density polyethylene than the other polymers tested.

Arctic ice cap cores were analyzed for organophosphate esters (OPEs). Depositional flux increased exponentially over 4 decades at one site but were lower further north. Some OPEs were associated with anthropogenic particles, possibly microplastics.

The mobility of the drugs through the soil column followed the order of APAP > IBF > IMC, which was ascribed to the difference in the physicochemical characteristics of various antipyretic drugs (e.g., the molecular structure and hydrophobicity).

Development of an advanced sensor using a nanohybrid material Gr and AuNPs for highly sensitive detection of GLY in surface water samples, addressing the significant health concerns associated with trace concentrations of this widely used pesticide.

Phosmet is an organophosphorus insecticide widely used in agriculture to control a range of insects; recently, it was banned by the European Union in 2022 due to its harmful effects.

The formation and sedimentation of oil–mineral aggregates (OMAs) is the major method to transport spilled oil to the seafloor.

The model allows prediction of PFAS interfacial behavior in complex scenarios, such as displacement of adsorbed PFAS by strongly-adsorbing surfactants under varying salt conditions (e.g., foam fractionation reactors, AFFF source zones).

Analysis of precipitation finds many emerging PFAS.

By integrating the uptake kinetics of pesticide metabolites into plant uptake models, we highlight the importance of considering the bioconcentration of metabolites when assessing risks to human health.

Microplastic particles are of increasing environmental concern due to the widespread uncontrolled degradation of various commercial products made of plastic and their associated waste disposal.

This study highlights limitations in conventional approaches used to identify key photochemically produced intermediates involved in the indirect photodegradation of organic contaminants.

Evapotranspiration and indirect photodegradation, but also connectivity between open lake and reed belt play a major role in the fate of organic trace contaminants and in determining the water chemistry in the shallow Lake Neusiedl.

Microplastics can spontaneously uptake PFCAs impacting plastic wettability and dispersity in water. The adsorbed PFCAs are subsequently released due to sunlight-indued weathering of the plastics, thus potentially influencing their mutual transport in the aquatic environment.

Identification of novel PFAS, updating spatiotemporal trends and providing a framework for understanding white-tailed sea eagle PFAS exposure in Sweden.

After an oil spill, the formation of oil-particle aggregates (OPAs) is associated with the interaction between dispersed oil and marine particulate matter such as phytoplankton, bacteria and mineral particles.

EAWAG-PPS and enviPath are valuable tools to predict transformation products and elucidate biotransformation pathways of active pharmaceutical ingredients in activated sludge.

The ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in both forest and stream litters decreased with time, but the absolute differences in ¹³⁷Cs concentrations between the litters were greater in more contaminated sites both 3.24 and 11.24 years after the Fukushima accident.

Oxidative methods (TOP and PhotoTOP) were combined with hydrolysis (THP assay) and fluorine sum parameters (EOF and TF) to characterize side-chain fluorinated polymers (SFPs) in functional textiles.

Understanding not only microplastic (MP) concentration but also size distribution, morphology, and polymer profiles is desirable for stormwater, which is an important pathway of entry for MP into the aquatic environment.

Microplastic-sorbed POPs were documented for the first time in North Africa. Fragments can be used alongside the pellets for the monitoring of POPs in the marine environment.