About this Research Topic
Water pollution remains a major challenge affecting human and ecosystem health. A wide range of Emerging Contaminants (ECs), including pharmaceuticals, personal care products, hormones, and pesticides can enter the aquatic systems from point and non-point sources, including wastewater treatment plants and agricultural operations. ECs can be transported from lands to surface waters and groundwaters through surface runoff and leaching or can be immobilized through sorption to soils or stabilization of non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) plumes. In addition, ECs can be transformed through biotic and abiotic processes, including biodegradation and photodegradation. It is essential to understand which contaminants, together with their by-products, are present and how they are transported, in order to understand their toxicological effects, assess their exposure risks, and develop effective strategies to reduce contaminant loads and protect water quality. This Research Topic focuses on the challenges affecting the characterization of ECs fate and transport.
Traditional targeted analytical methods can accurately detect and quantify ECs at low concentrations, but the target contaminants must be determined in advance. Alternatively, non-targeted analysis and suspect screening methods can identify a broad range of contaminants in soil or water samples; however, there are numerous challenges associated with reliably identifying ECs in the presence of natural organic matter, and non-targeted methods are not precisely quantitative. Moreover, non-targeted methods generally use less specific sample preparation methods, producing more complex matrices for analysis. When the targets are not individual compounds, but specific classes of compounds such as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chlorinated paraffins, weathered hydrocarbons, or microplastics, more targeted analytical methods may be possible; however, the complete composition of the target class is often unknown, and the transportation and transformation of individual target class components often varies. The goal of this Research Topic is to highlight some of the most difficult challenges in ECs analysis and treatment, including: 1) the detection and identification of contaminant by-products, the components of complex target compound classes, and untargeted contaminants; and 2) the removal of complex target compound classes, or groups of contaminants with diverse physicochemical properties, during natural attenuation or other water management approaches.
We would like to welcome original research papers that use state-of-the art models and technologies to quantify ECs concentrations and their movement and transformation in soils and waters. In addition, we welcome studies which address in-situ and ex-situ treatment technologies and management strategies for reducing ECs loads and potential risks to human health and ecosystems. We invite authors to submit original research papers, review articles, perspectives, and methods on any related subject. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Tracking sources and transformation of environmental contaminants, including complex target classes such as PFAS and microplastics
- Modeling the transport of ECs
- Novel technologies/methods for determining ECs, including non-targeted methods and inter-lab studies
- Mitigation and remediation strategies of ECs
Traditional targeted analytical methods can accurately detect and quantify ECs at low concentrations, but the target contaminants must be determined in advance. Alternatively, non-targeted analysis and suspect screening methods can identify a broad range of contaminants in soil or water samples; however, there are numerous challenges associated with reliably identifying ECs in the presence of natural organic matter, and non-targeted methods are not precisely quantitative. Moreover, non-targeted methods generally use less specific sample preparation methods, producing more complex matrices for analysis. When the targets are not individual compounds, but specific classes of compounds such as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), chlorinated paraffins, weathered hydrocarbons, or microplastics, more targeted analytical methods may be possible; however, the complete composition of the target class is often unknown, and the transportation and transformation of individual target class components often varies. The goal of this Research Topic is to highlight some of the most difficult challenges in ECs analysis and treatment, including: 1) the detection and identification of contaminant by-products, the components of complex target compound classes, and untargeted contaminants; and 2) the removal of complex target compound classes, or groups of contaminants with diverse physicochemical properties, during natural attenuation or other water management approaches.
We would like to welcome original research papers that use state-of-the art models and technologies to quantify ECs concentrations and their movement and transformation in soils and waters. In addition, we welcome studies which address in-situ and ex-situ treatment technologies and management strategies for reducing ECs loads and potential risks to human health and ecosystems. We invite authors to submit original research papers, review articles, perspectives, and methods on any related subject. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Tracking sources and transformation of environmental contaminants, including complex target classes such as PFAS and microplastics
- Modeling the transport of ECs
- Novel technologies/methods for determining ECs, including non-targeted methods and inter-lab studies
- Mitigation and remediation strategies of ECs
Keywords: emerging contaminants, transport mechanisms, nontargeted screening, PFAS, chlorinated paraffins, microplastics, water quality, hydrology, water management
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
