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Environments
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Environmental Pollution Exposure and Its Human Health Risks—2nd Edition
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Environmental Pollution Exposure and Its Human Health Risks—2nd Edition

A Special Issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298) belonging to the section "Society, Environment, Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 770

Editors

Dr. Benedetto Schiavo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Geofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
Interests: environmental geochemistry; environmental pollution; volcano monitoring; volcanic risk; human health risk
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Diana Meza-Figueroa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Mexico
Interests: environmental geochemistry; medical geology; emerging contaminant; nanoparticles; human health risk
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Claudio Inguaggiato

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Geología, Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada, Baja California (CICESE), Ensenada, Mexico
Interests: environmental geochemistry; environmental pollution; human health risk; fluid geochemistry; geothermal systems; volcano–hydrothermal systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite submissions to the Special Issue "Environmental Pollution Exposure and Its Human Health Risks—2nd Edition." This Special Issue will explore the complex relationships between environmental pollutants, such as heavy metals, persistent organic compounds, and emerging contaminants, and their impacts on human health across diverse environmental conditions.

Our objective is to provide a multidisciplinary platform for cutting-edge research that assesses exposure pathways, identifies vulnerable groups, quantifies health risks, and proposes innovative strategies for prevention and mitigation. We particularly welcome studies employing novel analytical methods, risk assessment models, biomonitoring, and community-based approaches. We also welcome contributions focused on the characterization of contaminated sites, including the identification of pollutant sources, temporal variability, and spatial distribution.

The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, natural and anthropogenic pollution exposure, occupational health risks, environmental justice, and the influence of socio-economic factors on pollution-related health outcomes. Through this Special Issue, we will foster a deeper understanding of the interplay between environmental contamination and public health, as well as support evidence-based policymaking and sustainable environmental management.

Dr. Benedetto Schiavo
Prof. Dr. Diana Meza-Figueroa
Dr. Claudio Inguaggiato
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • environmental pollution
  • personal exposure
  • emerging vontaminant
  • biomonitoring
  • occupational exposure
  • environmental justice
  • health risk assessment

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

35 pages, 3792 KB  
Article
PM2.5 Composition, Sources, and Health Risks in Madinah, Saudi Arabia: A Pre-Vision 2030 Baseline
by Yousef Alsufayan, Shedrack R. Nayebare, Omar S. Aburizaiza, Azhar Siddique, David O. Carpenter, Mirza M. Hussain, Jahan Zeb, Abdullah J. Aburiziza, Saiyada Shadiah Masood, Muhayatun Santoso and Haider A. Khwaja
Environments 2026, 13(9), 502; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13090502 - 9 Sep 2026
Abstract
Madinah, Saudi Arabia, is a hot-desert pilgrimage city receiving millions of religious visitors annually, yet its fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has not been chemically characterized. The city whose population is periodically influx by millions of religious visitors, generating concentrated increases in [...] Read more.
Madinah, Saudi Arabia, is a hot-desert pilgrimage city receiving millions of religious visitors annually, yet its fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has not been chemically characterized. The city whose population is periodically influx by millions of religious visitors, generating concentrated increases in vehicular activity while simultaneously exposing a large transient population to ambient air pollution. Despite this, its fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has not been chemically characterized. Twenty-four-hour PM2.5 samples were collected at five urban sites between December 2014 and February 2016 and analyzed for black carbon, water-soluble inorganic ions, and trace elements; sources were resolved by enrichment factors and positive matrix factorization (PMF), and screening-level inhalation risks estimated for eight PM2.5-bound metals. Site means ranged from 37.7 ± 20.5 µg m−3 at Uhad to 103 ± 50.7 µg m−3 at Al-Awali, exceeding the World Health Organization 24-h guideline of 15 µg m−3 at all sites in every season. Observed site–cycle means ranged from 37.7 ± 20.5 µg m−3 at Uhad to 103 ± 50.7 µg m−3 at Al-Awali, with concentrations exceeding the World Health Organization 24-h guideline of 15 µg m−3 across the monitored site–cycle datasets. Reconstructed mass was dominated by organic matter (53–80.5%) and crustal material (15–53%). Sulfate was the dominant water-soluble ion, but secondary inorganic aerosols contributed only 1–22% of mass, resembling rapidly urbanizing arid cities rather than Asian or European megacities. PMF resolved five sources: crustal dust, industrial mixed dust, oil combustion, vehicular emissions, and secondary aerosols. Hazard quotients remained below unity and cumulative carcinogenic risks below 10−6, principally from chromium and nickel. Because these measurements precede the Vision 2030 urban-transformation program, they establish a chemically resolved reference state for evaluating future air-quality change in Madinah. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Pollution Exposure and Its Human Health Risks—2nd Edition)
13 pages, 2718 KB  
Article
Urinary Uranium Levels in Cancer Patients and Healthy Residents Living in Uranium Legacy-Affected Areas: A Comparative Study
by Kuralay Ilbekova, Danara Ibrayeva, Yerbol Dogalbayev, Madina Kairullova, Meirat Bakhtin and Polat Kazymbet
Environments 2026, 13(7), 404; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13070404 - 17 Jul 2026
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Abstract
Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive heavy metal, and drinking water and food are the primary sources of non-occupational exposure for the general population. The aim of the present study was to evaluate urinary uranium concentrations among cancer patients and healthy residents living [...] Read more.
Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive heavy metal, and drinking water and food are the primary sources of non-occupational exposure for the general population. The aim of the present study was to evaluate urinary uranium concentrations among cancer patients and healthy residents living in uranium legacy-affected areas and to compare them with those of individuals residing in a region with a more favorable radiological environment, accounting for urinary creatinine levels. An observational human biomonitoring study was conducted among 80 adults divided into four groups (n = 20 each): cancer patients and healthy residents from the exposed area and cancer patients and healthy residents from the comparison area. Twenty-four-hour urine samples were analyzed for uranium using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and urinary creatinine was measured using the kinetic Jaffe method. Urinary uranium concentrations ranged from 0.01 to 1.30 µg/L, with the highest values observed in cancer patients from the exposed area. After creatinine adjustment, median uranium concentrations were 0.0974 µg/g creatinine in exposed cancer patients, 0.0888 µg/g creatinine in exposed healthy residents, 0.0515 µg/g creatinine in comparison-area cancer patients, and 0.0607 µg/g creatinine in comparison-area healthy residents. Significant differences were observed between exposed and comparison populations among both cancer patients (p = 0.0066) and healthy residents (p = 0.0499). Residence in the exposed area was positively associated with urinary uranium levels (ρ = 0.292, p = 0.012). These findings suggest higher internal uranium exposure among residents of uranium legacy-affected areas and support the use of urinary uranium as a biomarker of environmental exposure. This study contributes to the assessment of internal uranium exposure in residents of uranium legacy-affected areas, including both cancer patients and healthy residents. However, the findings should be interpreted as differences in exposure biomarkers and do not establish a causal relationship between uranium exposure and cancer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Pollution Exposure and Its Human Health Risks—2nd Edition)
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