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Impact of Heavy Metals on the Sustainable Environment—2nd Edition
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Impact of Heavy Metals on the Sustainable Environment—2nd Edition

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Health, Well-Being and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 2053

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Lidija Ćurković

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Materials, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb, Ivana Lucica 1, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: advanced ceramics; nanomaterials; corrosion mechanisms; wear mechanisms; mechanical characterization; sintering; microstructural characterization of ceramics; manufacturing; forming of ceramics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Mihone Kerolli Mustafa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
2. Faculty of Environmental Management, Technology and IT, Public International Business College Mitrovica (IBCM), Bislim Bajgora nn, 40000 Mitrovica, Kosovo
Interests: heavy metals; soil, water and air pollution; pollution prevention; statistical and environmental modelling; materials; risk assessment; green transition and technology; environmental monitoring and controlling; circular economy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, the contamination of natural habitats by heavy metals has become a severe hazard. Heavy metals are one of the most serious environmental pollutants as they create complex, long-term environmental problems, particularly in areas with high anthropogenic pressure. These pollutants are being discarded into the atmosphere, water and soil and accumulated by plants and internal human tissues due to rapidly growing agricultural activities, the metal industries, waste disposal, traffic emissions and expanding industrialisation. Heavy metals are non-degradable and can easily persist in the environment and have subsequently received a lot of attention in terms of their environmental consequences, toxicity to human health and pollution prevention, as have novel treatment methods that enhance environmental sustainability and provide effective support for seeking the ‘best’ environmental management options.

This Special Issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050), entitled “Impact of Heavy Metals on the Sustainable Environment”, will publish a collection of papers that aim to explore a wide range of topics related to the impact of heavy metals on the sustainable environment, including (but not limited to) the following:

  1. An evaluation of heavy metals’ mobility in the environment.
  2. Heavy metal pollution and its health risks.
  3. Risk assessment of heavy metals in the air, water, plants and related soils.
  4. Environmental sustainability and the prevention of heavy metal pollution.
  5. Advances in heavy metal remediation: methods, tools and technology.
  6. Monitoring and the impact of assessment approaches for heavy metals.
  7. Statistical and environmental modelling of heavy metal pollution.
  8. Heavy metals’ impact on the circular economy.
  9. Cross-cutting aspects and sustainability.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute relevant manuscripts to this Special Issue. Both original research papers and reviews are welcome. The keywords listed below represent a few of our research priorities.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Lidija Ćurković
Prof. Dr. Mihone Kerolli Mustafa
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

  • heavy metal
  • mobility
  • soil pollution
  • water contamination
  • air pollution
  • plant accumulation
  • health risk
  • environmental monitoring
  • risk assessment
  • heavy metal remediation
  • environmental sustainability
  • environmental modelling

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 3790 KB  
Article
Bioaccumulation and Trophic Transfer of Potentially Toxic Elements (As, Pb, and Cd) in Environmental Matrices and Sheep Tissues and Screening-Level Human Health Risk Assessment in the Ite Coastal Mining Wetland (Tacna, Peru)
by Abrahan Erasmo Apaza-Canqui, Diego Enrique Kassuha, Williams Sergio Almanza Quispe, María Elena Rodrigo Rojas, Nataniel Mario Linares-Gutiérrez, Carlos Genaro Morales-Aranibar, Álvaro Herrera Villanueva, Jorge González Aguilera, Alan Mario Zuffo and Luis Morales-Aranibar
Sustainability 2026, 18(9), 4334; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18094334 - 28 Apr 2026
Viewed by 633
Abstract
Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in mining-impacted wetlands can transfer from soil and water to forage and grazing livestock, resulting in dietary exposure for nearby communities. In this study, arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) were quantified in key environmental matrices (soil, surface [...] Read more.
Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in mining-impacted wetlands can transfer from soil and water to forage and grazing livestock, resulting in dietary exposure for nearby communities. In this study, arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) were quantified in key environmental matrices (soil, surface water, and forage) and in sheep tissues (liver, kidney, and muscle) from six georeferenced grazing sites in the Ite coastal wetland (Tacna, Peru) during the dry season. Samples were acid-digested following U.S. EPA protocols and analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) under QA/QC procedures (certified reference materials, blanks, duplicates, and matrix spikes); matrix-specific detection and quantification limits are reported. Arsenic dominated the contamination profile (forage: 428.6 mg kg−1, dry weight; soil: 48.61 mg kg−1; water: 0.97 mg L−1) and was detected in sheep tissues (kidney: 0.1577 mg kg−1; muscle: 0.1538 mg kg−1; liver: 0.0644 mg kg−1). Lead and cadmium were <LOQ in muscle and liver but were measurable in kidney (Pb: 0.0415 mg kg−1; Cd: 0.0011 mg kg−1). To support the interpretation of trophic transfer, screening transfer/bioaccumulation metrics (soil-to-forage, forage-to-tissue, and water-to-tissue) were calculated. Human dietary exposure was screened using estimated daily intake (EDI), hazard quotient (HQ), and margin of exposure (MOE). Because arsenic speciation was not measured, inorganic arsenic (iAs) risk was evaluated as a conservative upper bound (100% iAs) and through sensitivity scenarios (10–50% iAs). Under a high-meat-consumption scenario (300 g day−1), the upper-bound assumption yielded HQ = 2.2 and MOE = 0.46; however, scenario analyses indicate that risk conclusions are highly dependent on the assumed iAs fraction. Overall, the results identify arsenic as a priority contaminant and support targeted grazing management, the provision of low-arsenic water sources, and remediation and monitoring actions to reduce exposure in vulnerable rural communities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Heavy Metals on the Sustainable Environment—2nd Edition)
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14 pages, 1049 KB  
Article
Preliminary Findings of Heavy Metal Contents from Road Dust and Health Risk Assessments Towards a More Sustainable Future in Macao
by Thomas M. T. Lei, Yuyang Liu, Wenlong Ye, Wan Hee Cheng, Altaf Hossain Molla, L.-W. Antony Chen and Shuiping Wu
Sustainability 2025, 17(23), 10433; https://doi.org/10.3390/su172310433 - 21 Nov 2025
Viewed by 1046
Abstract
Road dust contains a variety of heavy metals and is a widely used sustainability indicator for monitoring pollution and assessing environmental and health risks in sustainable development. Heavy metals in road dust mainly originate from worn-off particles from vehicles, such as tires, brake [...] Read more.
Road dust contains a variety of heavy metals and is a widely used sustainability indicator for monitoring pollution and assessing environmental and health risks in sustainable development. Heavy metals in road dust mainly originate from worn-off particles from vehicles, such as tires, brake pads, road dust, and emissions from exhaust pipes. These heavy metal particles could remain on the road surface for a long period and cause environmental pollution. In this preliminary study, road dust was collected from 8 representative areas in Macao. The heavy metal content from road dust in Macao was extracted from each of the collected samples for an assessment of the heavy metal pollution and its potential threat to human health. The results show that heavy metals primarily originate from human activities, including transportation emissions (Mn: 67.37%, Zn: 57.01%, Sb: 54.1%) and industrial activities (Al: 84.70%, Fe: 76.71%, Pb: 65.32%). The metal-specific non-carcinogenic risk ranges from 1.17 × 10−7 to 2.65 × 10−5 and the total carcinogenic risk is 6.91 × 10−10, showing minimum health effects from heavy metals in road dust. Furthermore, there is a significant correlation between the total vehicle counts and the heavy metal contents such as Al, Si, As, V, and Fe (r = 0.50 to 0.82). This work represents the first characterization of heavy metal contents and risks of urban road dust in Macao. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impact of Heavy Metals on the Sustainable Environment—2nd Edition)
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