Nature Environment and Pollution Technology

Emerging environmental contaminants are increasingly detected in aquatic and terrestrial environments. These include pharmaceuticals, personal care products, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), endocrine-disrupting chemicals, microplastics, nanoplastics, industrial additives, and other substances of emerging environmental concern.

Their widespread occurrence, environmental persistence, potential toxicity, and complex interactions with natural systems present significant challenges for environmental monitoring, risk assessment, and pollution management. In addition, antimicrobial resistance, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes in wastewater and aquatic environments, has emerged as an important environmental concern.

Advances in analytical chemistry, molecular monitoring, environmental modeling, and treatment technologies provide new opportunities to understand the sources, environmental pathways, transformation, and impacts of these contaminants. However, further research is needed to connect laboratory findings with environmental conditions and develop effective, sustainable mitigation strategies.

This Special Issue aims to bring together high-quality original research and critical reviews addressing the challenges, environmental pathways, ecological risks, and practical solutions associated with emerging environmental contaminants.

Guest Editors

Dr. Maya Al-Sid-Cheikh
Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Environmental Analytical Chemistry
Head, Applied RadioIsotope and Environmental Laboratory (ARIEL)
School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Dr. Kevin (Kien) Vu
Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering
E. S. Witchger School of Engineering
Marian University, United States

Aim and Objectives

The Special Issue seeks to advance scientific understanding of emerging contaminants and promote effective approaches for environmental monitoring, pollution prevention, treatment, and remediation.

Particular emphasis is placed on studies that establish clear relationships between contaminant occurrence, environmental processes, ecological risks, and practical management solutions.

Suggested Themes and Research Topics

Submissions are invited in the following areas, although relevant studies beyond these topics may also be considered.

1. Occurrence and Identification of Emerging Contaminants

• Pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, industrial additives, and transformation products.
• PFAS and other persistent or mobile environmental contaminants.
• Microplastics, nanoplastics, and associated chemical pollutants.
• Emerging contaminants in surface water, groundwater, wastewater, soil, sediments, and aquatic organisms.
• Spatial and temporal patterns of contaminant occurrence and distribution.

2. Environmental Sources, Pathways, and Transformation

• Sources, release pathways, and environmental transport of emerging contaminants.
• Contaminants associated with municipal wastewater, industrial discharges, hospital wastewater, and urban stormwater.
• Agricultural runoff, pesticide residues, and contaminant transport through soil-water systems.
• Environmental persistence, degradation, transformation, sorption, and bioaccumulation.
• Fate and transport modeling under realistic environmental conditions.

3. Antimicrobial Resistance and Microbial Contaminants

• Antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in wastewater and aquatic environments.
• Environmental pathways and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance.
• Relationships between antibiotic residues, microbial communities, and resistance development.
• Occurrence and removal of microbial contaminants and ARGs in wastewater treatment systems.
• Environmental surveillance of AMR and associated ecological risks.

4. Advanced Detection and Environmental Monitoring

• Advanced chromatographic, spectroscopic, and mass spectrometric techniques.
• High-resolution mass spectrometry and suspect or non-target screening.
• Sensors, biosensors, and rapid environmental monitoring methods.
• Molecular approaches, including quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), sequencing, and metagenomics for monitoring microbial contaminants and antibiotic resistance genes.
• Method validation, quality assurance, and reliable quantification of contaminants in complex environmental matrices.

5. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Risk Assessment

• Toxicological effects of emerging contaminants on aquatic and terrestrial organisms.
• Mixture toxicity and interactions among multiple contaminants.
• Exposure assessment, bioavailability, bioaccumulation, and trophic transfer.
• Ecological risk characterization and contaminant prioritization.
• Environmental implications of transformation products and degradation intermediates.

6. Treatment Technologies and Remediation Mechanisms

• Adsorption, ion exchange, membrane separation, and advanced oxidation processes.
• Biological treatment, biodegradation, bioremediation, and phytoremediation.
• Electrochemical, photocatalytic, and hybrid treatment technologies.
• Removal mechanisms, degradation pathways, transformation products, and treatment by-products.
• Material stability, regeneration, reusability, and long-term treatment performance.
• Treatment evaluations using real wastewater or environmentally representative matrices.
• Pilot-scale applications and practical treatment performance.

7. Sustainability and Practical Implementation

• Energy consumption and resource requirements of treatment technologies.
• Economic feasibility, operating costs, and techno-economic assessment.
• Life-cycle assessment and environmental impacts of treatment processes.
• Sustainable materials and circular-economy approaches to contaminant management.
• Technology scalability and implementation under practical operating conditions.
• Integrated strategies for pollution prevention, treatment, and remediation.

8. Environmental Management, Policy, and Regional Challenges

• Environmental monitoring frameworks and contaminant management strategies.
• Risk-based prioritization of emerging contaminants.
• Environmental governance and regulatory challenges.
• Pollution management in developing countries and resource-constrained settings.
• Studies integrating contaminant monitoring, ecological risks, and practical mitigation measures.
• Regional and international comparisons providing broader environmental insights.

Important Dates

Manuscript Submission Deadline: 30 April 2027

Peer Review and Editorial Assessment: On a rolling basis

Target Publication: July 2027

For more details please visit the website: https://neptjournal.com/special-issues/emerging-environmental-contaminants