Environmental Occurrence, Transformation Mechanisms and Health Effects of Emerging Contaminants
A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental and Green Processes".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 15
Special Issue Editors
Interests: environmental analysis; environmental toxicity; health effects; molecular mechanism
Interests: metal pollutants; aquatic toxicity; real-time imaging
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The proliferation of synthetic chemicals and their extensive use in modern society have resulted in the growing detection of emerging contaminants (ECs) across global environments. These compounds, such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, microplastics, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are now pervasive in water sources, soils, and the atmosphere. Their widespread occurrence, coupled with complex transformation pathways and potential ecological and human health impacts, defines a crucial challenge in environmental science and engineering. A thorough understanding of the fate, transport, and biological effects of these contaminants is vital to formulating effective mitigation measures and safeguarding public health.
This Special Issue, entitled “Environmental Occurrence, Transformation Mechanisms and Health Effects of Emerging Contaminants”, aims to highlight high-quality research exploring the detection, behavior, and risks posed by ECs in both natural and engineered systems. We welcome studies that clarify abiotic and biotic transformation mechanisms influencing contaminant persistence and the generation of potentially more toxic transformation products. We also strongly encourage contributions that enhance our insight into the toxicity effects and health damage of ECs on ecosystem and organisms, as well as the potential molecular mechanisms.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Advanced analytical techniques for identifying and quantifying emerging contaminants and their transformation products in complex environmental matrices.
- Field studies and monitoring programs tracking the occurrence, distribution, and fate of ECs in diverse environments such as water, wastewater, soil, sediment, and air.
- Experimental and modeling research on transformation mechanisms, including photolysis, hydrolysis, biodegradation, and advanced oxidation/reduction processes.
- Assessments of ecological and human health risks via epidemiological investigations, in vitro and in vivo toxicological assays, and computational approaches (e.g., QSAR modeling).
- Research on bioaccumulation, trophic transfer, and long-term exposure effects of ECs in wildlife and human populations.
- Development and implementation of novel computational models for predicting the transport, fate, and exposure risks of emerging contaminants.
We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions and thank you for considering this Special Issue for your research.
Dr. Jiefeng Liang
Dr. Yiling Li
Dr. Xuezhi Yang
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes 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 2400 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
- emerging contaminants
- environmental analysis
- environmental occurrence
- transformation mechanisms
- health effects
- molecular mechanism
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