Fate, Toxicity, Detection and Risk Assessment of Toxins and Contaminants in Environment and Ecosystems

Dear Colleagues, 

With the rapid growth of the world’s population and changing of the environment, more and more concerns have been paid to the adverse effects of emerging environmental toxins and contaminants on ecology and human health. Emerging contaminants represent a global environmental issue due to their potential ecological toxicity or transformation products. These emerging toxins and contaminants mainly include pharmaceuticals, personal care products, micro/nano plastics, nanoparticles, antibiotics, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, persistent organic pollutants, disinfection by-products, pesticide, etc. For instance, many of the current studies have focused on the influence of microplastics on the ecosystem, as well as features such as their toxicity, characterization, and interaction with microorganisms and/or other contaminants. However, further knowledge, especially the toxicological assessment, is required to assess risks brought about by various emerging toxins and contaminants to the environment and human health.

The aim of this Special Issue is to understand the fate, toxicity, detection, and health risks of toxins in ecosystems. In this case, new technologies and advanced analytical techniques are remarkably important to necessitate the detection and evaluation of toxins and contaminants. Such an overview is likely to stimulate the opinions of environmentalists and ecologists on what remains to be discovered and eventually promote the development of clean and safe materials, new technologies, health, and global cooperation. This Special Issue will therefore include the following specific topics:

• Advanced analytical techniques for emerging toxins and contaminants;
• The fate, distribution, and transformation of emerging contaminants in environment;
• Uptake, translocation, and metabolism of toxins and contaminants in ecosystems such as plant and aquatic ecosystems;
• New materials that may potentially lower the risk and adverse effects of emerging toxins and contaminants on the environment and human health;
• Risk assessment associated with the emerging toxins and contaminants.

Prof. Dr. Haiyan Wang
Dr. Lei Xu
Dr. Zhen Yang
Guest Editors

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