Themed collection Highlights from Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts in 2024

This work introduces the reader to machine learning principles and highlights its usage in examining microplastics in soil samples.

The critical review scrutinizes some of the public statements on fluorinated gases and gives a detailed overview of the available alternatives to fluorinated gases used as refrigerants.

Optical surrogates are used to characterize dissolved organic matter composition like aromaticity and molecular weight. We both review the genesis of surrogate-composition relationships and critically evaluate additional supporting evidence.

This novel investigation revealed substantial PFAS contamination and plastic-PFAS co-occurrence in yard waste compost. Insights gained from the distribution of PFAS in compost are valuable for improving its management and application.

Measurements from the HOMEChem campaign have been constrained and modelled, identifying how cooking and cleaning affect indoor radical reactivities and concentrations.

The use of multi-method approaches provides a unique way of understanding nitrate contamination and its impact on groundwater quality.

PAH-hemoglobin adduct levels were associated with cumulative PM_2.5 exposure over the lifespan of red blood cells, demonstrating their utility as biomarkers for longer-term exposure.

Siderite is stabilised against oxidation in the presence of Low Molecular Weight Organic Acids (LMWOAs) with implications for iron mineral transformations and therefore contaminant and nutrient cycling.

Open dumping and burning of solid waste are widely practiced in underserved communities lacking access to solid waste management facilities. The generation of microplastics from these sites has been overlooked.

Private groundwater wells in communities co-located with historically contaminated sites and ongoing industrial activity contain complex mixtures of low-dose organic chemicals.

This study examines PFAS leaching behavior from concrete contaminated by the historical use of aqueous film-forming foams at an Australian Defence site, highlighting the long-term environmental implications of contaminated infrastructure.

The study highlights the negative effects of PE MPs on motor functions, oxidative stress, and cellular stress responses in Drosophila, emphasizing the broader ecological risks associated with microplastic pollution.

Nanoscale mixed inorganic–organic Fe–Ca–P-OM co-precipitates formed in sediments of eutrophic peat lake after Fe treatment increase seasonal internal P loading.

We evaluated the occurrence of 154 organic contaminants from multiple chemical/use classes in San Francisco Bay watersheds during storm events, revealing complex mixtures and high concentrations transported to receiving waters.

Chemical profiling of artificial turf crumb rubber reveals time-based trends in transformation products and transport pathways.

The Chemical Assessment of Surfaces and Air (CASA) study investigated how chemicals transform in the indoor environment using perturbations (e.g., cooking, cleaning) and additions of indoor and outdoor pollutants in a test house.

Adsorption of different organic pollutants by three microplastics before and after weathering.

Cleaning products emit a range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including some which are hazardous or can undergo chemical transformations to generate harmful secondary pollutants.

Estimation of dermal bioaccessibility and characterization of listed-ingredient and residual per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in cosmetic products.

This study assesses the environmental impact of the fluoropolymer industry in Europe by making an inventory of their emissions of PFASs and other fluorinated organic substances.