Monitoring and Risk Assessment of Emerging Chemical Contaminants in the Aquatic Environment

Dear Colleagues,

Emerging chemical contaminants in aquatic environments present significant challenges to environmental and public health, requiring comprehensive monitoring and innovative strategies for detection and mitigation. These contaminants include pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine disruptors, and various industrial chemicals that enter water bodies via wastewater discharge, agricultural runoff, and atmospheric deposition. Monitoring contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) is essential for understanding their presence, assessing their levels and trends in water bodies, identifying sources and areas of concern, supporting regulatory efforts to establish safe thresholds, and mitigating potential impacts on aquatic ecosystems and human health. Unlike traditional pollutants, these substances are often present at trace levels, making their detection and risk assessment challenging with conventional analytical methods. Therefore, advanced analytical techniques such as high-resolution mass spectrometry and chromatography are essential. These methods offer high sensitivity and accuracy, enabling the identification of these contaminants even at very low levels. They can differentiate between different contaminants and their metabolites, providing valuable information about their prevalence, distribution, and potential impacts on aquatic organisms and human health. Risk assessment involves evaluating the potential negative impacts on aquatic life and human health. This includes toxicity testing, studying how contaminants accumulate in organisms, and assessing their ecological effects. Predictive models are also employed to estimate exposure and potential effects. To mitigate the risks associated with these contaminants, effective management strategies are necessary. These include improving wastewater treatment technologies and enforcing stricter regulations. Public awareness and collaboration among scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders are essential for developing comprehensive solutions to address these challenges in the aquatic environment.

We cordially invite you to contribute research and review papers to this Special Issue, entitled “Monitoring and Risk Assessment of Emerging Chemical Contaminants in the Aquatic Environment,” with the aim of improving knowledge on this topic and enriching the public’s understanding of emerging chemical pollutants in the aquatic ecosystems.

This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and reviews. Research areas may encompass (but are not limited to) the following topics: contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) and their persistence; aquatic ecosystems; pollutant detection methodologies; advanced chemical monitoring; ecotoxicological risk analysis; environmental impact of chemical contaminants; aquatic toxicity assessment; and exposure.

Prof. Dr. Paolo Montuori
Dr. Fabiana Di Duca
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. Toxics 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 2600 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.

• contaminants of emerging concern (CECs)
• aquatic ecosystems
• water pollution
• seasonal and spatial trends
• advanced chemical monitoring
• risk assessment
• environmental impact of chemical contaminants