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Ecotoxicology and Health Risks of Emerging Organic Pollutants

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Toxicology and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 March 2023) | Viewed by 7770

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Rui Zhang

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Guest Editor

School of Water Conservancy and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan 250022, China
Interests: ecotoxicology; emerging organic pollutants

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

General public concern over the ecotoxicology and health effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and related persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals began in the early 1960s due to their spectrum of adverse effects. They usually have persistence, bioaccumulation, biomagnification and long-range transport potentials. Since then, tens of thousands of high-production organic chemicals have entered various environmental matrices along with their production and use. Among them, some are synthetic or naturally occurring organic chemicals that are not currently (or have only recently been) regulated in the environment, but have the potential to enter the environment and cause known or suspected adverse ecological and/or human health effects. These are called emerging organic pollutants (EOPs). Examples of EOPs include persistent organic chemicals, pharmaceutical and personal care products, endocrine-disrupting compounds, antibiotics and so on. Few data exist regarding their toxicity and environmental behavior, although they are already widespread in the environment. As a result, there is insufficient data to calculate the predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) and set limits for their release into the environment. The research on the ecotoxicology and health risks of EOPs is in line with the needs of the international community to control their adverse effects, and is a frontier hot issue in the field of environmental science.

This Special Issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health aims to feature original full-length research articles and reviews on this topic from a multidisciplinary point of view. Potential topics for this collection include, but are not limited to:

Occurrence, fate, transport, and measurement techniques of EOPs;
Bioavailability and biotransformation of EOPs;
Toxic effects of EOPs and their metabolites;
Computational chemistry and quantitative structure–activity relationship studies for the toxicity of EOPs;
Environmental risk assessments of EOPs;
Studies involving the treatment and removal of EOPs.

We are looking forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Rui Zhang
Guest Editor

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Keywords

emerging organic pollutants
persistent organic pollutants
PBTs
toxic effects
ecotoxicology
bioaccumulation
risk assessment and management
computational chemistry
QSAR

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2908 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Molecular Mechanisms of Tebuconazole Affecting the Social Behavior and Reproduction of Zebrafish

by Wei Yan, Guangyu Li, Qiqi Lu, Jianjun Hou, Meiqi Pan, Maomin Peng, Xitian Peng, Hui Wan, Xixia Liu and Qin Wu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(5), 3928; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20053928 - 22 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1568

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the underlying mechanism of adverse effects caused by tebuconazole (TEB) on the reproduction of aquatic organisms In the present study, in order to explore the effects of TEB on reproduction, four-month-old zebrafish were exposed to TEB (0, DMSO, 0.4 mg/L, 0.8 mg/L, and 1.6 mg/L) for 21 days. After exposure, the accumulations of TEB in gonads were observed and the cumulative egg production was evidently decreased. The decline of fertilization rate in F1 embryos was also observed. Then the changes in sperm motility and histomorphology of gonads were discovered, evaluating that TEB had adverse effects on gonadal development. Additionally, we also found the alternations of social behavior, 17β-estradiol (E2) level, and testosterone (T) level. Furthermore, the expression levels of genes involved in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and social behavior were remarkably altered. Taken together, it could be concluded that TEB affected the egg production and fertilization rate by interfering with gonadal development, sex hormone secretion, and social behavior, which were eventually attributed to the disruption of the expressions of genes associated with the HPG axis and social behavior. This study provides a new perspective to understanding the mechanism of TEB-induced reproductive toxicity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecotoxicology and Health Risks of Emerging Organic Pollutants)

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13 pages, 2593 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comprehensive Analysis of the Association between Human Diseases and Water Pollutants

by Xinlu Jiang, Huanhuan Zhang, Xiaoyan Wang, Xu Zhang and Kaiyang Ding

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(24), 16475; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416475 - 8 Dec 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1514

Abstract

Drinking water is an important natural resource. For many people worldwide, especially in developing countries, access to safe drinking water is still a dream. An increasing number of human activities and industrialization have caused various physical, chemical, and biological pollutants to enter water bodies, affecting human health. Water pollutants contain a vast number of additives, such as perfluorinated chemicals, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, phthalate, nanomaterials, insecticides, microcystins, heavy metals, and pharmacologies. In this work, we aim to explore the potential relationship between water pollutants and human diseases. Here, we explored an integrative approach to identify genes, biological processes, molecular functions, and diseases linked to exposure to these water pollutants. These processes and functions affected by water pollutants are related to many diseases, including colonic neoplasms, breast neoplasms, hepatitis B, bladder cancer, and human cytomegalovirus infection. In addition, further analysis revealed the genes that play a key role in the human diseases induced by water pollutants. Therefore, conducting an integrative toxicogenomic analysis of water pollutants is more appropriate for evaluating the potential effects of water pollutants on human health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecotoxicology and Health Risks of Emerging Organic Pollutants)

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9 pages, 1156 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Oxidative Stress Responses and Gene Transcription of Mice under Chronic-Exposure to 2,6-Dichlorobenzoquinone

by Wenjing Wu, Yingying Liu, Chunze Li, Fangyu Zhuo, Zexiong Xu, Huachang Hong, Hongjie Sun, Xianfeng Huang and Xinwei Yu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(21), 13801; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192113801 - 24 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1097

Abstract

2,6-Dichlorobenzoquinone (2,6-DCBQ), as an emerging disinfection by-production, was frequently detected and identified in the drinking water; however, limited information is available for the toxic effect of 2,6-DCBQ on mice. In the present study, adult mice were used to assess the impact of 2,6-DCBQ via measuring the responses of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)), the key genes (Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), NADPH quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) and glutamate-L-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC)) in the Nrf2-keap1 pathway, and lipid peroxidation (malonaldehyde, MDA). Our results clearly indicated that 2,6-DCBQ decreased the activities of SOD and CAT, repressed the transcriptional levels of key genes in Nrf2-keap1 pathway, further caused oxidative damage on mice. These results provided evidence for assessing the threat of 2,6-DCBQ on human. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecotoxicology and Health Risks of Emerging Organic Pollutants)

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15 pages, 1721 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Insight into the Sorption Behavior of 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzothiophene on the Sediments and Paddy Soil from Chaohu Lake Basin

by Kainan Nian, Wenli Xiong, Yalu Tao, Ziqing Zhu, Xiaoxue Pan, Kang Zhang and Xuesheng Zhang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(18), 11346; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811346 - 9 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1096

Abstract

Considering the frequent detection of polychlorinated dibenzothiophenes (PCDTs) in various environmental matrices and the potential ecological health risks, the environmental behavior of such compounds needs to be elucidated further. In this work, the sorption behavior of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzothiophene (2,3,7,8-TCDT) onto three sediments and paddy soil from Chaohu Lake were investigated via batch equilibration experiments. From the perspective of sorption kinetics and isotherms, the sorption characteristics and mechanism of 2,3,7,8-TCDT on the above four carriers were compared, and the relationship between their structural characteristics and soil sorption capacity was discussed. Results suggested that rapid sorption played the primary role during the sorption process of 2,3,7,8-TCDT and the corresponding sorption isotherms were well fitted using the Freundlich logarithmic model. Moreover, the effects of pH and dissolved organic matter (DOM) on the sorption of 2,3,7,8-TCDT were investigated. The maximum sorption capacity of 2,3,7,8-TCDT on sediment was under acidic pH condition (pH = 4.0). Meanwhile, DOM at a low level promoted the sorption capacity of sediment toward 2,3,7,8-TCDT, while the high concentration of DOM inhibited this effect. In addition, the values of logK_oc were obtained using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and did not show any significant correlation with organic carbon (OC) contents, thereby indicating that the partition effect was the dominating influencing factor for the sorption of 2,3,7,8-TCDT both on sediments and soil. This work provides useful data to understand the sorption behavior of 2,3,7,8-TCDT on sediments and soil and assess its potential environmental risk. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecotoxicology and Health Risks of Emerging Organic Pollutants)

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11 pages, 1340 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Theoretical Study of the Interactions between Persistent Organic Pollutants and Graphene Oxide

by Qiuxuan Wu, Rui Zhang, Xiaoxiang Wang and Yizhuo Li

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(18), 11340; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811340 - 9 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1421

Abstract

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have adverse effects on the human health and ecosystem functioning. Graphene oxide (GO) has been developed to remove trace levels of POPs from wastewater samples. However, many questions involved in these processes are still unresolved (e.g., the role of π–π interaction, the effect of GO on the degradation of POPs, and so on). Revealing the microscopic interactions between GO and POPs is of benefit to resolve these questions. In the present study, a quantum chemical calculation was used to calculate the molecular doping and adsorption energy between eight representative POPs and GO. The influences of GO on the thermodynamic parameters, such as the Gibbs free energy and the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) gap, were also reported. We found the molecular doping is dependent on the species of POPs. The adsorption energy of the majority of POPs on GO is between 7 and 8 kJ/mol. Consequently, the GO may make degradation of POPs in wastewater more productive and lead to a change of kinetics of the degradation of POPs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecotoxicology and Health Risks of Emerging Organic Pollutants)

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