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Contaminants of Emerging Concern—(Eco)Toxicity, Environmental Behavior and Remediation

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 5166
Related Special Issue: Behavior and Effects of Nanoscale Materials and Plastics—Understanding the Mechanisms of Toxicity

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: toxicity of anthropogenic contaminants; contaminant interactions; environmental risk assessment; molecular-to-ecological endpoints; remediation solutions; science societal impact
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last few decades, the uncontrolled development of human activities has drastically increased the pollution of the air, water and soil. Numerous contaminants present in the environment are still unregulated and have been referred to as contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Over the last few decades, the term CECs has been increasingly used, incorporating not only new synthetic or natural compounds or microorganisms, but also other contaminants recently detected in the environment due to the development of new detection methods. CECs are diverse in terms of origin and chemical nature, encompassing a wide range of man-made chemicals/materials, such as pesticides, cosmetics, personal and household care products, pharmaceuticals, flame-retardant compounds, surfactants, plasticizers and industrial additives as well as nanoparticles and micro/nanoplastics. For many of these compounds, it is still unknown if they pose an ecological risk or present potential adverse health effects. However, they may be candidates for future regulation depending on the research conducted on their occurrence, impact on the environment and possible harmful effects on health.

This Special Issue of Applied Sciences invites the submission of original research, case studies or up-to-date review papers focusing on the (eco)toxicity mechanisms and environmental behavior of CECs and the remediation methods that can be used to address them. The aggregation of these papers will allow the knowledge on this topic to be increased and clarified, enabling better control and regulation of the release of CECs into the environment. In particular, potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • CEC (eco)toxicity assessed at different levels of biological organization. In vitro and human exposure studies are very welcome.
  • CEC (eco)toxicity after long-term exposure with special attention to multigenerational and/or transgenerational effects.
  • Advances in characterization and understanding of the environmental behavior of CECs.
  • Challenges in the biomonitoring of CECs, ecological risks and bioremediation.
  • Development of new methodologies for the remediation of CECs.
  • Regulation of CECs and policies for CECs.
  • New analytical methods to assess environmental samples, allowing the detection and quantification of CECs.

Dr. Ângela Barreto
Dr. Vera Lúcia Maria
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Applied Sciences 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

  • emerging contaminants
  • (eco)toxicological impact
  • environmental fate
  • mechanisms of (eco)toxicity
  • risk assessment
  • regulators
  • remediation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

8 pages, 551 KiB  
Article
Response of Sex Steroid Hormone Synthesis Substrates in Serum and Testes of Male Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Exposed to Methomyl and Its Recovery Pattern
by Shunlong Meng, Xi Chen, Chao Song, Limin Fan, Liping Qiu, Gengdong Hu, Jiazhang Chen and Pao Xu
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(22), 10997; https://doi.org/10.3390/app112210997 - 20 Nov 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1571
Abstract
The response of synthetic substrates of sex steroid hormones—cholesterol (CHO), pregnenolone (PREG), and progesterone (PROG)—in the serum and testes of male tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) to the environmental estrogen pesticide methomyl (0.2, 2, 20, and 200 μg·L−1) was evaluated using [...] Read more.
The response of synthetic substrates of sex steroid hormones—cholesterol (CHO), pregnenolone (PREG), and progesterone (PROG)—in the serum and testes of male tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) to the environmental estrogen pesticide methomyl (0.2, 2, 20, and 200 μg·L−1) was evaluated using static-water contact toxicity tests. The results showed that low methomyl concentrations (0.2 and 2 μg·L−1) had no significant effects on the contents of CHO, PREG, and PROG in the serum and testes of male tilapia (p > 0.05). Consequently, the concentration of 2 μg·L−1 could be used as a preliminary reference threshold for the non-effective dose of methomyl in male tilapia. Exposure to high methomyl concentrations (20 and 200 μg·L−1) significantly inhibited the levels of CHO, PREG, and PROG in the serum and testes of male tilapia (p < 0.05) and showed a dose–response relationship. Sex steroid hormone synthesis substrate damage to male tilapia caused by less than 20 μg·L−1 methomyl was reversible, while the damage caused by equal to or greater than 200 μg·L−1 methomyl was irreversible when tilapia were transferred to methomyl-free water for 18 days. Thus, a concentration of 200 μg·L−1 could be used as a reference threshold for irreversible damage caused by methomyl in male tilapia. Full article
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14 pages, 1993 KiB  
Article
Is the Synthetic Fungicide Fosetyl-Al Safe for the Ecotoxicological Models Danio rerio and Enchytraeus crypticus?
by Angela Barreto, Joana Santos, Mónica J. B. Amorim and Vera L. Maria
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(16), 7209; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11167209 - 5 Aug 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2495
Abstract
Worldwide, pesticides have contaminated the environment, affecting non-target species. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of fosetyl-Al (FOS) on model organisms. Based on the 3 Rs for animal research and described guidelines, the OECD 236 and 220 were applied [...] Read more.
Worldwide, pesticides have contaminated the environment, affecting non-target species. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of fosetyl-Al (FOS) on model organisms. Based on the 3 Rs for animal research and described guidelines, the OECD 236 and 220 were applied with some modifications. The FOS test concentrations were 0.02–0.2–2–20–200 mg/L for Danio rerio and 250–500–750–1000–1250 mg/kg for Enchytraeus crypticus. Besides the standard endpoints, additional endpoints were evaluated (D. rerio: behavior and biochemical responses; E. crypticus: extension of exposure duration (28 d (days) + 28 d) and organisms’ sizes). For D. rerio, after 96 h (h), hatching was inhibited (200 mg/L), proteins’ content increased (2 and 20 mg/L), lipids’ content decreased (2 mg/L), glutathione S-transferase activity increased (2 mg/L), and, after 120 h, larvae distance swam increased (20 mg/L). For E. crypticus, after 28 d, almost all the tested concentrations enlarged the organisms’ sizes and, after 56 d, 1250 mg/kg decreased the reproduction. In general, alterations in the organisms’ biochemical responses, behavior, and growth occurred at lower concentrations than the effects observed at the standard endpoints. This ecotoxicological assessment showed that FOS may not be considered safe for the tested species, only at higher concentrations than the predicted environmental concentrations (PECs). This research highlighted the importance of a multi-endpoint approach to assess the (eco)toxic effects of the contaminants. Full article
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