Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.7
4.3
Journals
Environments
Special Issues
Monitoring and Risk Assessment of Environmental Contaminants
share announcement

Monitoring and Risk Assessment of Environmental Contaminants

A Special Issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298) belonging to the section "Environmental Monitoring and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2027 | Viewed by 1489

Editors

Dr. Min Kyu Park

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Engineering, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, Republic of Korea
Interests: persistent organic pollutants; emerging contaminants; human and ecological risk assessment
Dr. Ana Luísa Maulvault

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere—IPMA, Avenida de Brasília, 1449-006 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: emerging contaminants; ecotoxicology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Environmental contaminants arise from diverse sources including industrial activities, agricultural practices, waste disposal, and household products. These contaminants can persist in air, water, soil, and food, posing risks to ecosystems and human health. Understanding their occurrence, transport, transformation, and potential impacts is essential for effective risk assessment and management. Despite advances in monitoring technologies and analytical methods, challenges remain in evaluating complex mixtures, emerging contaminants, and their long-term effects on both local and global scales.

This Special Issue invites contributions that advance knowledge in the monitoring and risk assessment of environmental contaminants. Topics of interest include the development of innovative monitoring techniques; modeling contaminant fate and transport; assessing ecological and human health risks; and evaluating new strategies for mitigation and policy implementation. Studies that address emerging contaminants such as microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals are particularly welcome. Research on integrated approaches combining field observations, laboratory experiments, and modeling to improve risk assessment frameworks will also be considered.

We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions that will help deepen our understanding of environmental contaminants and support the development of effective measures to safeguard environmental and public health.

Dr. Min Kyu Park
Dr. Ana Luísa Maulvault
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 contaminants
  • risk assessment
  • persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
  • heavy metals
  • microplastics
  • emerging contaminants
  • environmental monitoring
  • air and water quality
  • chemical analysis
  • environmental policy

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

21 pages, 8814 KB  
Article
Concentrations, Distribution, Sources, and Risks of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products in the Karst Landscape of the Lijiang River Basin
by Qi Chen, Chengyou Ma, Jiali Qian, Qiaoyan Wu, Litang Qin, Liwei Xu and Yanpeng Liang
Environments 2026, 13(8), 455; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13080455 - 17 Aug 2026
Viewed by 446
Abstract
Owing to their widespread occurrence, pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) have emerged as a global environmental concern; however, research on PPCP pollution in karst tourist cities remains limited. This study investigated the concentrations and spatial distribution of 43 PPCPs in the Lijiang [...] Read more.
Owing to their widespread occurrence, pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) have emerged as a global environmental concern; however, research on PPCP pollution in karst tourist cities remains limited. This study investigated the concentrations and spatial distribution of 43 PPCPs in the Lijiang River Basin and identified their primary sources together with the associated ecological and health risks. In total, 43 target PPCPs were detected in the Lijiang River Basin in Guangxi, China, with concentrations ranging from 68.6 to 3170 ng/L in wastewater, 53.2 to 1400 ng/L in surface water, and 32.0 to 505 ng/L in groundwater. Caffeine (CAF), 1,7-dimethylxanthine (1,7-DIM), 4-acetaminophenol (APAP), and metformin (MFM) were the predominant contaminants across all three matrices. Notably, concentrations in tributaries exceeded those in the main stem. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that domestic sewage and hospital wastewater constitute the principal sources of PPCPs in the Lijiang River. Certain effluents and river reaches containing 1,7-DIM and MFM posed a moderate ecological risk (0.1 < risk quotient (RQ) < 1). The PPCPs detected in groundwater did not exceed health-based thresholds, indicating no direct risk to human health. These findings advance our understanding of PPCP contamination in karst landscapes and provide a scientific basis for water quality management in the Lijiang River Basin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring and Risk Assessment of Environmental Contaminants)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 6901 KB  
Article
Occupational Exposure to Ultrafine Particles (UFPs) in Pizzerias: Personal Monitoring and Comparison of Oven Technologies
by Sergio Pili, Alessandro Murru, Joanna Izabela Lachowicz, Simone Milia, Tatiana Pedrazzi, Giuseppe De Palma, Marcello Campagna and Luigi Isaia Lecca
Environments 2026, 13(7), 403; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13070403 - 17 Jul 2026
Viewed by 572
Abstract
Background: Ultrafine particles (UFPs) represent a significant occupational health concern in commercial cooking environments, yet comprehensive exposure assessment in pizzerias remains limited despite their global prevalence and unique cooking processes. Understanding UFP exposure patterns and associated health effects in this widespread food service [...] Read more.
Background: Ultrafine particles (UFPs) represent a significant occupational health concern in commercial cooking environments, yet comprehensive exposure assessment in pizzerias remains limited despite their global prevalence and unique cooking processes. Understanding UFP exposure patterns and associated health effects in this widespread food service sector is crucial for protecting worker health. Objective: To quantify occupational exposure to airborne UFPs among pizzeria workers across different oven technologies. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in 10 pizzerias in the Cagliari metropolitan area (April 2022–March 2024), encompassing wood-fired ovens (WFO, n = 6), electric ovens (EO, n = 3), and mixed systems (BO, n = 1). Ventilation characteristics were documented at each site to evaluate their influence under real-world operating conditions. Personal UFP exposure was measured using DISCmini diffusion size classifiers (10–700 nm range), while qualitative particle characterization employed ELPI+ impaction with SEM-EDS analysis. Results: UFP concentrations varied dramatically by oven type, with median values of 3.18 × 104 particles/cm3 (WFO), 1.29 × 105 particles/cm3 (EO), and 2.55 × 105 particles/cm3 (BO). Seven of ten pizzerias exceeded WHO precautionary limits (20,000 particles/cm3), with electric oven facilities showing concentrations comparable to high-emission industrial operations. Elemental analysis revealed predominantly carbon-based particles with significant iron, aluminum, and silicon content, indicating combined combustion and mechanical abrasion sources. Conclusions: Pizzeria workers experience substantial UFP exposure levels that frequently surpass those in other food service environments and approach levels typically observed in high-exposure industrial workplaces. Electric ovens generate significantly higher UFP levels than wood-fired systems, likely due to ventilation efficiency differences. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring and Risk Assessment of Environmental Contaminants)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop