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.

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.

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.

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.

Due to their binding to possibly important high/medium-molecular mass intracellular proteins, technology-critical elements, actinides and other nonessential metals could pose a risk for aquatic organisms in highly contaminated aquatic environments.

Weathering of acid-forming alum shale might lead to the mobilization of potentially harmful contaminants, including U, while precipitation of secondary phases in the surrounding environment can act as a temporary storage for leachable contaminants.

This study presents an application of TPD-DART-HRMS for plastic, enabling rapid characterization of waste through Kendrick grouping and Tanimoto comparison.

Real-time measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) reveal the chemical fingerprints of cooking oils, herbs, and spices, offering insights into their impact on indoor air quality and pollutant exposure.

Measurements from the HOMEChem campaign have been constrained and modelled, identifying how cooking and cleaning affect indoor radical reactivities and concentrations.

The use of multi-method approaches provides a unique way of understanding nitrate contamination and its impact on groundwater quality.

PAH-hemoglobin adduct levels were associated with cumulative PM_2.5 exposure over the lifespan of red blood cells, demonstrating their utility as biomarkers for longer-term exposure.

Siderite is stabilised against oxidation in the presence of Low Molecular Weight Organic Acids (LMWOAs) with implications for iron mineral transformations and therefore contaminant and nutrient cycling.

Open dumping and burning of solid waste are widely practiced in underserved communities lacking access to solid waste management facilities. The generation of microplastics from these sites has been overlooked.

Retention of metal ions onto PET microplastic fibres is expected during sewage treatment.

Private groundwater wells in communities co-located with historically contaminated sites and ongoing industrial activity contain complex mixtures of low-dose organic chemicals.

A novel application of mobile monitoring to investigate the spatial distribution of vehicular and non-vehicular urban particulate matter sources in London, UK.

Exposure to indoor PM_2.5 originating from indoor sources is relevant, and PM_2.5 chemical speciation data is necessary to estimate this exposure. This work proposes a new approach to quantify such exposure.

This study examines PFAS leaching behavior from concrete contaminated by the historical use of aqueous film-forming foams at an Australian Defence site, highlighting the long-term environmental implications of contaminated infrastructure.

The study highlights the negative effects of PE MPs on motor functions, oxidative stress, and cellular stress responses in Drosophila, emphasizing the broader ecological risks associated with microplastic pollution.

A survey study of Se speciation in coal fly ash samples representative of coal source and combustion conditions.

In equilibrium-based passive sampling applications, the accuracy of estimating freely dissolved concentration (C_free) of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) relies on the passive sampler-water partition coefficient (K_PS–W) values applied.

Ice nucleation processes in the earth's atmosphere are critical for cloud formation, radiation, precipitation, and climate change.

A chemical mixture caused diverse responses across five phytoplankton species. Analysis of lipid profiles and changes in neutral lipid content enhanced our understanding of the vulnerability of phytoplankton populations to chemical pollution.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are chemicals of high concern and are undergoing hazard and risk assessment worldwide.

Fragile ecosystems (Western Ghats and Himalayas), and major rice cultivation areas are vulnerable to highest Hg deposition. Indian anthropogenic emissions strongly influence deposition fluxes with varying regional impacts.

The newly developed classifier has a balanced accuracy of 94.2%, better than any other classification model for aerobic biodegradability so far. During the model development, some data points needed to be excluded due to a very high variance.

We evaluated the occurrence of 154 organic contaminants from multiple chemical/use classes in San Francisco Bay watersheds during storm events, revealing complex mixtures and high concentrations transported to receiving waters.

PFAS in an urban environment can come from various sources. The main activity in the area, i.e. commercial versus municipal, can influence the overall loads and speciation of PFAS in the examined wastewater.

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.

Ferrihydrite, a poorly crystalline Fe(III)-oxyhydroxide, is abundant in soils and is often found associated with organic matter.

An ice core dated 1967–2016 represents the longest Arctic deposition record for perfluoroalkylcarboxylic acids (PFCAs) and the longest global record of perfluoroalkylsulfonic acids (PFSAs), providing unique insights into their long-range transport.

This study reports the decrease in iron-bound organic carbon quantity and change in its composition in thawing permafrost soils, with implications for the bioavailability of the dissolved organic carbon pool.

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

The rate constants of the six isomers of ISOPOO and SO₂ and their contributions to the global-scale sulphate formation were evaluated.

Organic aerosol formed from ocimene photooxidation has more oligomers compared to organic aerosol formed from other acyclic terpene precursors.

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

We describe a robust and flexible protocol to collect water-soluble chemicals from leaf surfaces for atmosphere-biosphere interaction studies.

Common household activities including cooking and cleaning contribute to indoor air pollution. Here, a modelling study has been conducted to identify how these indoor sources of air pollution affect outdoor environments.

Coccolithophores are biogeochemically and ecologically important phytoplankton that produce calcium carbonate scales, or coccoliths. Here, we show that one species of coccolithophore grows coccoliths with uneven distribution of Sr, in contrast to current fractionation model theory.

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

In this study, the disinfection effects of O₃, PMS, and H₂O₂ on MS2 coliphage in deionized (DI) water and secondary effluent water were systematically compared.

Glancing-angle laser-induced fluorescence is used to obtain adsorption isotherms of organic pollutants at the air–water interface.

The high strontium-90 uptake by the green microalga Tetraselmis chui is related to its ability to form strontium-rich inclusions of amorphous calcium carbonate (called micropearls).

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).