Environmental Behavior and Risks of Organic Pollutants

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 186

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
Interests: environmental analysis; environmental toxicity; organic pollutants; emerging pollutants; risk assessment; metabolomics; lipidomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Energy and Carbon Neutrality Science and Education Integration, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China
Interests: emerging pollutants; environmental behavior; exposure quantification; modeling; ecological and human health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, the increasing environmental pollution, which is a result of accelerated urbanization and industrialization, has attracted the worldwide attention because of its adverse effects on human health. Epidemiological studies suggest that the diseases (e.g., respiratory, cardiovascular, and cancers) are closely related to the environmental pollution. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the polluted environments are responsible for killing 1.7 million children under 5 years of age every year. To date, there have been many researches investigating the occurrence of pollutants in environmental media (e.g., air, water, and soil) and their toxicity to organisms. However, the environmental problems are changing with the development of human society; in particular, emerging pollutants have been increasingly reported in recent years, and their threats to human health and the ecological environment are not well known. Therefore, more evidence is needed to further understand the environmental behavior and risks of environmental pollutants (e.g., emerging pollutants and persistent organic pollutants). 

This Special Issue will explore a variety of topics related to the environmental behavior and risks of organic pollutants in water and soil, including environmental fate, toxicological effects, mechanisms of toxicity, risk assessment, and so on.

Dr. Qinghua Zhou
Dr. Yuanchen Chen
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • organic pollutants
  • emerging pollutants
  • environmental fate
  • environmental toxicity
  • risk assessment
  • water
  • soil

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 1128 KiB  
Article
Occurrence, Migration Behavior, and Environmental Burden of Phthalate Esters in Flooring Materials Used in Newly Renovated Chinese Homes
by Ying Zhang, Li-Bo Chen, Hao-Yang Shen, Zi-Chao Wu, Ning-Zheng Zhu, Chong-Jing Gao and Ying Guo
Toxics 2025, 13(7), 517; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13070517 - 20 Jun 2025
Abstract
Phthalic acid esters (PAEs), a class of synthetic semi-volatile organic compounds, are extensively incorporated into decorative materials. However, their specific occurrence, migration behaviors, and environmental impact on these materials—which comprise the largest surface areas in residential settings—remain insufficiently understood. This study investigated the [...] Read more.
Phthalic acid esters (PAEs), a class of synthetic semi-volatile organic compounds, are extensively incorporated into decorative materials. However, their specific occurrence, migration behaviors, and environmental impact on these materials—which comprise the largest surface areas in residential settings—remain insufficiently understood. This study investigated the distribution, emission dynamics, and environmental burdens of PAEs in flooring commonly used in Chinese households. The results showed that PAEs are widespread in flooring, with total concentrations ranging from 1220 to 166,000 ng/g (14,100 ng/g, median value). Solid wood flooring (55,900 ng/g) exhibited significantly higher PAE levels compared to engineered flooring (22,600 ng/g) and laminate flooring (4000 ng/g) (p < 0.05). Migration experiments revealed that solid wood flooring tended to continuously release PAEs, laminate flooring showed a pronounced capacity for PAE absorption, and engineered flooring exhibited both release and absorption behaviors. The initial PAE concentration is the dominant factor influencing migration rates, while the flooring type and substrate density also contribute to varying degrees. The estimated environmental burdens of PAEs resulting from flooring in newly renovated Chinese households ranged from 3.63 × 109 ng to 3.45 × 1011 ng, with a median value of 1.23 × 1010 ng. Households in the eastern and southwestern regions exhibited the highest PAE burdens, while the southern region showed the lowest. Socioeconomic factors such as residential floor area, number of rooms, household income, and renovation budget significantly influenced the environmental burden of PAEs derived from flooring. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Behavior and Risks of Organic Pollutants)
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