Outside the Safe Operating Space of the Planetary Boundary for Novel Entities

Generative discovery of safer chemical alternatives using diffusion modeling: A case study in green solvent design for cyclohexane/benzene extractive distillation

Over the past century, advancements in chemistry have significantly propelled human innovation, enhancing both industrial and consumer products. However, this rapid progression has resulted in chemical pollution increasingly surpassing planetary boundaries, as production and release rates have outpaced our monitoring capabilities. To catalyze more impactful efforts, this study transitions from traditional chemical assessment to inverse chemical design, introducing a generative graph latent diffusion model aimed at discovering safer alternatives. In a case study on the design of green solvents for cyclohexane/benzene extraction distillation, we constructed a design database encompassing functional, environmental hazards, and process constraints. Virtual screening of previous design dataset revealed distinct trade-off trends between these design requirements. Based on the screening outcomes, an unconstrained generative model was developed, which covered a broader chemical space and demonstrated superior capabilities for structural interpolation and extrapolation. To further optimize molecular generation towards desired properties, a multi-objective latent diffusion method was applied, yielding 19 candidate molecules. Of these, 7 were identified in PubChem as the most viable green solvent candidates, while the remaining 12 as potential novel candidates. Overall, this study effectively designed green solvent candidates for safer and more sustainable industrial production, setting a promising precedent for the development of environmentally friendly alternatives in other areas of chemical research.

Evaluating trace elements as a conservation concern for Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in Switzerland

The Eurasian lynx, an endangered species in Switzerland, faces major threats including traffic collisions, illegal killing, and low genetic diversity. However, the impact of trace element (TE) exposure on its conservation remains poorly understood. As a top predator primarily feeding on game species, this felid can be exposed to non-essential TEs, including lead and mercury, which can be toxic even at low concentrations. In addition, overexposure to or deficiency of essential TEs such as copper or zinc can cause adverse health effects. To address this gap, we analysed liver samples from 122 individuals archived in the Swiss national health surveillance program by measuring the concentrations of eight TEs: four non-essential TEs (arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury) and four essential TEs (copper, iron, selenium, and zinc). Concentrations were consistent with those reported in other free-ranging Lynx populations and remained below toxicity thresholds reported for mammals, while also being above deficiency levels for essential TEs. They varied with age for some TEs, but not with sex, time or environmental variables. Additionally, we used a body condition score to examine the relationship between TE concentrations and Eurasian lynx health. Lower body condition scores were associated with higher concentrations of both non-essential and essential TEs, likely reflecting poor health affecting TE accumulation rather than a direct toxic effect. Overall, our study suggests that the current TE exposure does not significantly threaten Eurasian lynx populations in Switzerland, providing new insights for conservation efforts and long-term health monitoring.

Toward energy systems within the planetary boundaries

Energy systems are essential for societal development but also contribute significantly to global environmental impacts. For the first time, a review explores the role of energy systems to transgression levels of planetary boundaries, based on quantitative sustainability assessments. The environmental sustainability of various energy sources is reviewed to identify key hotspots and describe pathways toward more sustainable alternatives. Fossil-based energy systems significantly contribute to exceeding planetary boundaries, remarkably, climate change, ocean acidification, and, to a lesser extent, chemical pollution and eutrophication. While renewable energy systems perform better in climate change and ocean acidification, they might lead to trade-offs in other categories. For instance, expansion of bioenergy could lead to increased pressures on biogeochemical cycles, water demand and land use. This review emphasizes the need for a holistic approach, integrating planetary boundaries into energy transition strategies to ensure sustainability and minimize environmental impacts.

Multi-behavioral fingerprints can identify potential modes of action for neuroactive environmental chemicals

There is a lack of confidence in the relevance of zebrafish-based behavior data for chemical risk assessment. We extended an automated Visual and Acoustic Motor Response (VAMR) new approach method (NAM) in 5-day post-fertilization (dpf) zebrafish to include 26, behavior-based endpoints that measure visual-motor responses, visual and acoustic startle responses, habituation learning, and memory retention. A correlation analysis from 5159 control larvae revealed that more complex endpoints for learning- and memory-related behavior yielded unique behavior patterns. To build confidence in the VAMR NAM, we established neuroactivity fingerprints using concentration-response profiles derived from 63 reference chemicals targeting neurotransmission, neurodevelopmental signaling, or toxicologically-relevant pathways. Hierarchical clustering revealed diverse toxicity fingerprints. Compounds that targeted the N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) or gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptors reduced habituation learning. Pathway modulators targeting peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARδ) or gamma (PPARγ), GABAA, dopamine, ryanodine, aryl hydrocarbon (AhR), or G-protein-coupled receptors or the tyrosine kinase SRC inappropriately accelerated habituation learning. Reference chemicals targeting GABAA, NMDA, dopamine, PPARα, PPARδ, epidermal growth factor, bone morphogenetic protein, AhR, retinoid X, or α2-adreno receptors triggered inappropriate hyperactivity. Exposure to GABAA receptor antagonists elicited paradoxical excitation characterized by dark-phase sedation and increased startle responses while exposure to GABAA/B receptor agonists altered the same endpoints with opposite directionality. Relative to reference chemicals, environmental chemicals known to be GABA receptor antagonists (Lindane, Dieldrine) or agonists (Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA)) elicited predicted behavior fingerprints. When paired with the phenotypically rich VAMR NAM, behavior fingerprints are a powerful approach to identify neuroactive chemicals.

Human sperm as an in vitro toxicity model: a versatile tool for assessing the risk of environmental contaminants

Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) pose a significant threat to human and ecosystem health due to their persistence, bioaccumulation in higher trophic levels, and potential toxicity. While in vivo models are commonly used for toxicity screening, developing alternative in vitro techniques for rapid environmental risk assessment is essential. Spermatozoa, with their compartmentalized structure, measurable characteristics and sensitivity to environmental changes, offer potential as an in vitro model for toxicity screening. We evaluated the impact of selected CECs, including pharmaceuticals and pesticides, on sperm function in highly motile sperm subpopulations selected from donor semen. Standardised protocols were applied to assess various sperm functional parameters after 1-4 h of exposure to either individual or a mixture of chemicals. Our findings revealed that total motility is insufficient to detect subtle toxic effect. More responsive measures, such as sperm kinematics, induced hyperactivation, viability, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) should be assessed to elucidate the effect of a toxic environment on sperm function. Most chemicals exerted a dose-response effect on sperm parameters, with the higher concentrations resulting in the most negative effects. The inherent sensitivity of human spermatozoa to oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage and energy metabolism, makes them a robust model for assessing toxicity. These features highlight their utility as an alternative cellular model for evaluating CECs and advancing risk assessment methodologies.

The great dispersal: The fall and rise of global environmental governance

This article presents a new way of understanding Global Environmental Governance (GEG), historically and functionally. We outline a revised analytical framing, which connects the post-WWII moment of early globalizing conservation with the intensifying attempts to govern the human-earth relationship through an ever-growing assemblage of governable environmental objects and their quantifiable indicators as proxies. Our argument is as follows: (1) GEG has followed a trajectory of dispersal of actors, institutions, conceptual tools and responsibilities from the micro- and local scales to the planetary. We analyze how these trajectories unfold in three essential domains: Earth System science, sovereignty, and neoliberalization. (2) GEG is performative. The governance itself has created the dynamic environmental objects under governance. (3) In this way, GEG has normalized the environment as a policy object.

Health impacts of exposure to synthetic chemicals in food

Humans are widely exposed to synthetic chemicals, especially via food. The types of chemical contaminants in food (including food contact chemicals) are diverse, and many of these are known to be hazardous, with mounting evidence that some contribute to noncommunicable diseases. The increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods, which contain synthetic chemicals, also contributes to adverse health. If the chemical contamination of foods were better characterized, then this issue would likely receive more attention as an important opportunity for disease prevention. In this Review, we discuss types and sources of synthetic food contaminants, focusing on food contact chemicals and their presence in ultra-processed foods. We outline future research needs and highlight possible responses at different food system levels. A sustainable transition of the food system must address the health impacts of synthetic chemicals in food; we discuss existing solutions that do justice to the complexity of the issue while avoiding regrettable substitutions and rebound effects.

Exploring pathways for world development within planetary boundaries

The pressures humanity has been placing on the environment have put Earth's stability at risk. The planetary boundaries framework serves as a method to define a 'safe operating space for humanity'1,2 and has so far been applied mostly to highlight the currently prevailing unsustainable environmental conditions. The ability to evaluate trends over time, however, can help us explore the consequences of alternative policy decisions and identify pathways for living within planetary boundaries3. Here we use the Integrated Model to Assess the Global Environment4 to project control variables for eight out of nine planetary boundaries under alternative scenarios to 2050, both with and without strong environmental policy measures. The results show that, with current trends and policies, the situation is projected to worsen to 2050 for all planetary boundaries, except for ozone depletion. Targeted interventions, such as implementing the Paris climate agreement, a shift to a healthier diet, improved food, and water- and nutrient-use efficiency, can effectively reduce the degree of transgression of the planetary boundaries, steering humanity towards a more sustainable trajectory (that is, if they can be implemented based on social and institutional feasibility considerations). However, even in this scenario, several planetary boundaries, including climate change, biogeochemical flows and biodiversity, will remain transgressed in 2050, partly as result of inertia. This means that more-effective policy measures will be needed to ensure we are living well within the planetary boundaries.

Gesundheit von Kindern und Jugendlichen im Kontext der Planetaren Gesundheit

Child and Adolescent Health in the Context of Planetary Health Due to various physiological, developmental, and behavioral factors, children and adolescents are particularly affected by the health effects of the planetary crises (climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity). In particular, climate change affects child health and development through direct (e. g., heat) and indirect effects (e. g., mental health). Against this background, the concept of planetary health is particularly important, since it builds on the concept of nine planetary boundaries that are considered a safe operating space for human existence. Planetary health describes the relationships between human health with the natural, political, economic, and social systems of the earth, which form the basis for human health. As a result, an intact natural environment is a basic requirement for a healthy life for the population of our planet. This review shows how this concept can help to further develop prevention, health promotion and health care in order to ensure adaptation to the changing conditions ("adaptation") and at the same time to weaken climate change ("mitigation"). Applications in the field of teaching, patient training and community health are presented. In the future, climatesensitive health counseling in particular can play a role in the future to support the individual health and that of the planet ("co-benefits").

UV-weathering affects heteroaggregation and subsequent sedimentation of polystyrene microplastic particles with ferrihydrite

Microplastic (MP) particles are ubiquitous in aquatic environments where they become exposed to UV-irradiation with subsequent alteration of surface properties. Such particles will interact with naturally occurring colloids being subject to processes like heteroaggregation that affect both MP surface properties and their removal rates from the water column. In this study, we investigated heteroaggregation and subsequent sedimentation of 1 μm polystyrene (PS, pristine and UV-weathered) with ferrihydrite (Fh), an iron (oxy)hydroxide commonly found in nature. Heteroaggregation of pristine PS with Fh was controlled by electrostatic attraction. At neutral pH values, strong heteroaggregation was observed which led to the sedimentation of almost all PS particles. UV-weathering of PS led to lower negative surface charge, decrease of particle size, and formation of degradation products. Changes in surface properties of PS resulted in a different aggregation behavior with Fh. With increasing weathering time, the isoelectric point (pHIEP) of suspensions with PS and Fh shifted to lower pH values. Furthermore, we observed aggregation and subsequent sedimentation of weathered PS and Fh for a wider pH range (pH 3-7) compared to pristine PS (pH 6.5-7.5). We attribute this observation to increased surface reactivity of PS due to the formation of functional groups on the surface through UV-weathering. In addition, degradation products (e.g. oligomers) formed during weathering might have also interacted with PS and Fh and therefore further affected the surface properties of the particles. Overall, UV-weathering but also interactions of MP particles with environmental particles cause changes of MP surface properties, which influence its environmental behavior in water and might lead to a removal from the water column and accumulation in sediments.

Quantifying national burdens of foodborne disease-Four imperatives for global impact

Estimates of national burdens of the foodborne disease (FBD) inform country-level food safety policies, ranking infectious and non-infectious FBD hazards in terms of health and socioeconomic impact to mitigate FBD burdens. Using relevant publications on FBD burdens from scientific literature, this review contends that four major imperatives (health, economic, planetary boundaries, governance) argue for a sustainable programme to quantify national FBD burdens. FBD disproportionately affects children under five years of age, and low- and middle-income countries. The economic costs are significant and include medical care, child development, lost productivity and international trade losses. Climatic changes and environmental contamination cause socio-ecological disruptions, increasing risk factors for FBD. Good governance promotes food safety initiatives, addressing in part under-diagnosis and underreporting. Strengthening national policies on FBD surveillance and burden estimation can promote food safety policies and address the global and national imperatives for FBD control. Evidence-based educational and regulatory interventions for FBD can promote improvements in the health and socioeconomic circumstances of the most vulnerable.

Advancing the Spatiotemporal Dimension of Wildlife-Pollution Interactions

Chemical pollution is one of the fastest-growing agents of global change. Numerous pollutants are known to disrupt animal behavior, alter ecological interactions, and shift evolutionary trajectories. Crucially, both chemical pollutants and individual organisms are nonrandomly distributed throughout the environment. Despite this fact, the current evidence for chemical-induced impacts on wildlife largely stems from tests that restrict organism movement and force homogeneous exposures. While such approaches have provided pivotal ecotoxicological insights, they overlook the dynamic spatiotemporal interactions that shape wildlife-pollution relationships in nature. Indeed, the seemingly simple notion that pollutants and animals move nonrandomly in the environment creates a complex of dynamic interactions, many of which have never been theoretically modeled or experimentally tested. Here, we conceptualize dynamic interactions between spatiotemporal variation in pollutants and organisms and highlight their ecological and evolutionary implications. We propose a three-pronged approach-integrating in silico modeling, laboratory experiments that allow movement, and field-based tracking of free-ranging animals-to bridge the gap between controlled ecotoxicological studies and real-world wildlife exposures. Advances in telemetry, remote sensing, and computational models provide the necessary tools to quantify these interactions, paving the way for a new era of ecotoxicology that accounts for spatiotemporal complexity.

Expanding the focus of the One Health concept: links between the Earth-system processes of the planetary boundaries framework and antibiotic resistance

The scientific community warns that our impact on planet Earth is so acute that we are crossing several of the planetary boundaries that demarcate the safe operating space for humankind. Besides, there is mounting evidence of serious effects on people's health derived from the ongoing environmental degradation. Regarding human health, the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria is one of the most critical public health issues worldwide. Relevantly, antibiotic resistance has been claimed to be the quintessential One Health issue. The One Health concept links human, animal, and environmental health, but it is frequently only focused on the risk of zoonotic pathogens to public health or, to a lesser extent, the impact of contaminants on human health, i.e., adverse effects on human health coming from the other two One Health "compartments". It is recurrently claimed that antibiotic resistance must be approached from a One Health perspective, but such statement often only refers to the connection between the use of antibiotics in veterinary practice and the antibiotic resistance crisis, or the impact of contaminants (antibiotics, heavy metals, disinfectants, etc.) on antibiotic resistance. Nonetheless, the nine Earth-system processes considered in the planetary boundaries framework can be directly or indirectly linked to antibiotic resistance. Here, some of the main links between those processes and the dissemination of antibiotic resistance are described. The ultimate goal is to expand the focus of the One Health concept by pointing out the links between critical Earth-system processes and the One Health quintessential issue, i.e., antibiotic resistance.

Revealing transport, uptake and damage of polystyrene microplastics using a gut-liver-on-a-chip

Microplastics (MPs) are pervasive pollutants present in various environments. They have the capability to infiltrate the human gastrointestinal tract through avenues like water and food, and ultimately accumulating within the liver. However, due to the absence of reliable platforms, the transportation, uptake, and damage of microplastics in the gut-liver axis remain unclear. Here, we present the development of a gut-liver-on-a-chip (GLOC) featuring biomimetic intestinal peristalsis and a dynamic hepatic flow environment, exploring the translocation in the intestines and accumulation in the liver of MPs following oral ingestion. In comparison to conventional co-culture platforms, this chip has the capability to mimic essential physical microenvironments found within the intestines and liver (e.g., intestinal peristalsis and liver blood flow). It effectively reproduces the physiological characteristics of the intestine and liver (e.g., intestinal barrier and liver metabolism). Moreover, we infused polyethylene MPs with a diameter of 100 nm into the intestinal and hepatic chambers (concentrations ranging from 0 to 1 mg mL-1). We observed that as intestinal peristalsis increased (0%, 1%, 3%, 5%), the transport rate of MPs decreased, while the levels of oxidative stress and damage in hepatic cells decreased correspondingly. Our GLOC elucidates the process of MP transport in the intestine and uptake in the liver following oral ingestion. It underscores the critical role of intestinal peristalsis in protecting the liver from damage, and provides a novel research platform for assessing the organ-specific effects of MPs.

Global prediction of agricultural soil antibiotic susceptibility and safe boundary for biota

Pervasive anthropogenic activities release substantial quantities of antibiotics into soils, damaging soil organisms, introducing antibiotic resistance, and thus jeopardizing the safe boundaries for biodiversity. Here, by applying advanced geospatial modeling and establishing the planetary boundary (PB), we estimated that, at the baseline year (2015), global agricultural soil antibiotic concentration is 122.0 μg kg-1, within the PB of 153.7 μg kg-1 beyond which the health of soil biota (including bacteria, fungi, invertebrates, and antibiotic-resistance genes) decreases dramatically. In ∼2070, soil antibiotic concentrations increase while the boundaries decrease from SSP1-RCP2.6, SSP2-RCP4.5 to SSP5-RCP8.5. Under SSP5-RCP8.5, global soil organisms face the adverse antibiotic pollution (148.9 μg kg-1) that has transgressed the boundary (136.1 μg kg-1). Our study reveals the geopolitical inequality arising from antibiotic susceptibility and highlights the urgent need of the sustainable development to avoid catastrophic consequences on global soil organisms.

Development of the Navigation Guide Evidence-to-Decision Framework for Environmental Health: Version 1.0

Environmental exposures, including widespread industrial pollution, impact human health and are amplified in more highly exposed communities. Policy and regulatory frameworks for making decisions and recommendations on interventions to mitigate or prevent exposures tend to narrowly focus on exposure and some health-related data related to risks. Typically, such frameworks do not consider other factors, including essentiality, health equity, and distribution of benefits and costs. Further, decisions and recommendations lack transparency regarding how they were developed. We developed the Navigation Guide Evidence-to-Decision Framework for Environmental Health (E2DFEH) to provide a structured and transparent framework incorporating a range of scientific information and factors for decision-making. We reviewed current evidence-to-decision frameworks and engaged in an iterative consensus-based process involving 30 experts from 25 organizations in the academic, government, and nonprofit sectors. The E2DFEH framework includes three Foundations that are structural factors considered as part of recommendation development: 1) Essentiality, 2) Human Rights, and 3) Quality of the Evidence. It also includes three core Criteria that guide the development of a specific recommendation, informed by an evaluation of relevant evidence: 1) Environmental Justice, 2) Maximizing Benefits and Reducing Harm, and 3) Sociocultural Acceptability and Feasibility. The framework's goal is to make the decision process transparent and comprehensive through explicit consideration of core factors important for decisions, leading to more equitable and health-protective interventions.

Exploiting Molecular Ions for Screening Hydrophobic Contaminants in Sediments Using Gas Chromatography-Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization-Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry

Hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) are conventionally screened by matching electron ionization (EI) mass spectra acquired using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to reference spectra. However, extensive in-source fragmentation hampers de novo structure elucidation of novel substances that are absent from EI databases. To address this problem, a new method based on GC-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) coupled to ion mobility-high resolution mass spectrometry (IM-HRMS) was developed for simultaneous target, suspect, and nontarget screening of HOCs. Of 102 target chemicals, 85.3% produced (quasi-)molecular ions as base peaks, while 71.6% displayed method detection limits lower than those of GC-EI-low resolution MS. The optimized method was applied to standard reference sediment and sediments from the Baltic Sea, an Arctic shelf, and a Norwegian lake. In total, we quantified 56 target chemicals with concentrations ranging from 4.86 pg g-1 to 124 ng g-1 dry weight. Further, using a combination of full scan mass spectrum, retention time, collision cross section (CCS), and fragmentation spectrum, a total of 54 suspects were identified at Confidence Level (CL) 2. Among the remaining features, 169 were prioritized using a halogen-selective CCS cutoff (100 Å2 + 20% mass), leading to annotation of 54 substances (CL ≤ 3). Notably, a suite of fluorotelomer thiols, disulfides, and alkyl sulfones were identified in sediment (CL 1-2) for the first time. Overall, this work demonstrates the potential of GC-APCI-IM-HRMS as a next-generation technique for resolving complex HOC mixtures in environmental samples through exploitation of molecular ions.

Sensitivity of larval Dendropsophus haddadi (Bastos and Pombal 1996), an anuran species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, to acute exposure to nitrate

Nitrogenous pollution has been reported to be a major threat to biodiversity and, therefore, it may be related to the decline of amphibians, the most threatened group of vertebrates in the world. In spite of this, and the widespread release of nitrogenous compounds into the environment, research on the impact of this pollution on Neotropical species remains limited. The aim of this study was to assess the sensitivity of one anuran species inhabiting in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Dendropsophus haddadi) to NaNO3 by an acute exposure laboratory experiment, addressing also whether carryover effects exist. Larval mortality increased as time went on in the case of the highly polluted treatments, which also affected swimming performance. Mean lethal concentration (LC50) values revealed that the sensitivity of the study species to NaNO3 was similar to that described for other amphibians, both tropical and temperate species. Additionally, larvae exposed to moderate levels of pollution significantly increased final mass. In spite of this, once larvae were transfered into clean water, no further mortality was recorded, and swimming performance improved. These results indicate that tropical species may not be more vulnerable to chemical pollution than temperate ones, and suggest that they are able to recover from acute short exposure to nitrogenous compounds, all of which represent a new addition to the knowledge of the vulnerability of Dendropsophus haddadi to pollution and, thus, to Neotropical ecotoxicology.

Operationalization of the safe and sustainable by design framework for chemicals and materials: challenges and proposed actions

The production and use of chemicals and materials have both advantages and drawbacks for human and ecosystem health. This has led to a demand for carefully guided, safe, and sustainable innovation in the production of chemicals and materials, taking into consideration their entire life cycle. The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has released the Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework, which aims to support this objective. The SSbD framework consists of two components that are intended to be iteratively implemented throughout the innovation process: (1) the application of design principles phase, and (2) the safety and sustainability assessment phase. However, the operationalization of the framework is currently challenging. This article maps the challenges and proposes ways to address them effectively. The mapping, which is based on a literature review and stakeholder opinions, resulted in 35 challenges. The highest priority challenge is "integration of SSbD framework into the innovation process." To begin addressing this issue, this article recommends conducting a scoping analysis to define the SSbD study. This can be achieved through implementing a tiered approach that aligns with the objectives of the innovation and the growing expertise that comes with it. The second priority challenge is "data availability, quality and uncertainty." This can be supported by using Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reuse (FAIR) principles and by optimizing in silico methods at early stages of the innovation process. An infrastructure for data and communication is necessary to effectively engage with the entire value chain. The third priority challenge is "integration of safety and sustainability aspects," which requires a clear definition of how to integrate those aspects in the SSbD context, and harmonization, as far as possible, of input data, assumptions, and scenario construction. This review is the first step in accelerating the operationalization of the novel SSbD concept and framework into industrial practice.

AI-aided chronic mixture risk assessment along a small European river reveals multiple sites at risk and pharmaceuticals being the main risk drivers

The vast amount of registered chemicals leads to a high diversity of substances occurring in the environment and the creation of new substances outpaces chemical risk assessment as well as monitoring strategies. Hence, risk assessment strategies need to be modified ensuring that they remain aligned with the rapid development and marketing of new substances. Here we performed a longitudinal chronic mixture risk assessment considering a real-world case study scenario with diverse anthropogenic impact types characterised by different land uses along a river in Central Germany. We sampled river water using large-volume solid phase extraction at six selected sampling sites. Following chemical analysis using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry, we quantified 192 substances. For 34 % of them, we obtained empirical chronic effect data for freshwater organisms. Furthermore, we used the open-source artificial intelligence (AI) model TRIDENT to predict chronic toxicity for all substances. A multi-scenario mixture risk assessment was conducted for three taxonomic groups, using the concentration-addition concept and considering various hazard and exposure scenarios. The results showed that the chronic risk estimates for all taxonomic groups were considerably higher when the empirical data was amended with data from in silico modelling. We identified hotspots of chemical pollution and our analysis indicated that fish were the most vulnerable taxonomic group, with pharmaceuticals being the most relevant risk drivers. Our study exemplifies the application of an AI model to predict chronic risk for aquatic organisms in combination with the consideration of multiple risk scenarios that may complement future risk assessment strategies.

Capturing temporal variation in aquatic ecotoxicological risks: Chemical- versus effect-based assessment

The integration of effect-based and chemical profiling has been advocated to assess the potential ecotoxicological risks posed by chemical mixtures present in aquatic ecosystems. However, the concentrations of contaminants in surface waters can vary greatly over time and space, making it challenging to ensure risk assessment. Although the first results are promising, it has not yet been proven that these combined approaches are also capable of capturing temporal variation in aquatic ecotoxicological risks. The present study aimed to test this by combining passive time-integrative sampling with effect-based and chemical-analytical techniques in agricultural waterways. Silicone rubber sheets and polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) were deployed in four agricultural water bodies over four consecutive six-week periods. Passive sampler extracts were analysed using a battery of 22 in vitro and in vivo bioassays in tandem with extensive chemical target analysis of 225 compounds. The extracts induced fluctuating bioassay responses over time for all locations during all sampling periods, highlighting the presence of temporal and spatial variation in toxic pressure. A range of compounds, primarily fungicides and herbicides, were detected in the passive sampler extracts during all sampling periods and at all locations at variable concentrations, highlighting the persistent but variable chemical pressure in surface waters in agricultural regions. However, the toxicity observed in the in vitro bioassays could solely be attributed to detected chemicals in 6 % of the cases with those chemicals explaining only 1-16.9 % of the observed effects, indicating that these were predominantly caused by undetected chemicals. Risk assessments based on bioassay responses revealed frequent exceedances of effect-based trigger values at all locations and during all sampling periods. It is concluded that effect-based assessments better capture temporal variations in potential ecotoxicological risks than traditional chemical analyses, but that advanced chemical analysis is needed to explain the bioanalytical response profiles.

Hydrological and hydraulic drivers of microplastics in a rural river sourced from the UK's largest opencast coal mine

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous in river and freshwater ecosystems. However, the hydraulic and hydrological mechanisms that regulate the activation and emissions of MPs from both the land surface and subsurface into rivers are not well understood. This study aims to quantify the instream MP concentration and MP load in a remote headwater catchment river (Taff Bargoed, Wales, UK), which drains the UK's largest opencast coal mine (Ffos-y-fran), over a two-year period. Small fibers (< 1 mm) composed of acrylic and polyester dominated the MPs found in the Taff Bargoed, while less commonly observed MP fragments were mostly composed of polysulfone. River MP concentrations ranged from 0.27 to 28.87 MP/m³ (average: 14.60 ± 10.31 MP/m³), and MP load ranged one order of magnitude from 0.08 to 3.04 MP/s (average: 1.42 ± 0.81 MP/s). Statistically significant relationships were found between MP concentration, the number of dry weather hours and river discharge, which indicated rainfall-runoff induced, source limited, dilution effects on instream MP concentration. A negligible relationship between MP load and river discharge was observed, which suggests that MP load variability was independent of flow conditions, dry weather hours, and the MP concentration in the Taff Bargoed. Significant positive relationships between MP concentration and instream total suspended solids were also observed, indicating that this may provide a useful proxy for estimating MP variation in the Taff Bargoed. No longitudinal variation in MP concentration over a 2 km reach was observed, where differences in flow and drainage area were negligible, however, MP concentration increased by a factor of 2-4 downstream of an inflowing tributary, also sourced from the Ffos-y-fran coal mine. Overall, the results of this study provide evidence that mining activities can contribute MPs in rural and remote rivers, with their contribution being regulated by the hydraulic and hydrological processes in the catchment.

The safe and sustainable by design framework applied to graphene-based materials

The shift toward a sustainable and toxic-free future requires integrating safety and sustainability aspects across the entire lifecycle of chemicals and materials. The Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) framework, developed by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), offers a systematic approach to support informed decision-making throughout the innovation process. The aim of this work was to investigate the opportunities and challenges of the SSbD framework through a detailed case study on graphene-based materials, implementing the SSbD Steps 1-4 with data from existing literature. The study assessed the framework's feasibility for materials and examined its potential for an absolute (non-comparative) application, including an evaluation across multiple or all potential uses of a chemical/material to be able to determine the overall safety and sustainability. The findings show that the framework offers a structured, adaptable approach to evaluating chemical and material safety and sustainability across their lifecycle, although challenges emerge for materials due to the small number of applicable models and tools. Further guidance on interpretating the results and SSbD scores of Steps 1-4 will facilitate an absolute assessment and distribute the effort required over an enhanced benefit. High Technology Readiness Level (TRL) materials, such as graphene-based materials, have sufficient data to support a comprehensive SSbD assessment considering multiple applications and to evaluate the material in an overall approach. This case study can support future users of the SSbD framework as well as provide valuable feedback for its ongoing review and adaptation.

Geoclimatic modeling and assessment of pesticide dynamics in Indian soil

Although pesticides can protect crops from pests and diseases, their extensive use poses significant environmental risks through soil quality degradation and groundwater contamination. Pesticide dynamics in soil are influenced by geoclimatic factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate local variability in pesticide dynamics based on geoclimatic variation across India at the individual farm level and to identify emerging patterns of pesticide residue accumulation in the soil. Using a bioreactive transport simulator, biogeochemical models from 19,573 farms were evaluated to study the dynamics of 46 pesticides across India by incorporating farm-level data on soil and climatic conditions. Hotspots of pesticide leaching and residue accumulation were identified by analyzing several parameters, including soil texture, organic carbon content, pH, and rainfall. This study highlighted the variability in pesticide residue accumulation at the topsoil and leaching rates from topsoil to below root zone across three dimensions-time, location, and pesticide species. It also explored the statistical patterns of pesticide leaching. The average leaching ratio was estimated to be 5% of the applied pesticide mass, which aligns with previous studies reporting approximately 7%. In this study, we evaluated for the first time spatial variations of pesticide dynamics in soil by simulating geoclimatic data at the farm level, which is the smallest unit of agriculture. This opens up the possibility of data-driven pesticide management at both farm and regional levels. This research provides actionable insights for policymakers to optimize pesticide application rates across regions and for farmers to select pesticides with minimal environmental impact based on specific local conditions.

Multiliter-Scale Photosensitized Dimerization of Isoprene to Sustainable Aviation Fuel Precursors

Synthetic routes to sustainable aviation fuels are needed to mitigate the environmental impacts of the aviation sector. Among several emerging methods, the use of light-driven reactions benefits from milder conditions and the possibility of using sunlight to directly irradiate reactants or, alternatively, to power LEDs with a high and constant light intensity. Dinaphthylketone-photosensitized dimerization of isoprene can afford C10 cycloalkenes that, after hydrogenation, meet the required properties for jet fuels (strongly resembling Jet-A). Isoprene can be photobiologically produced by metabolically engineered cyanobacteria from the conversion of CO2 and water by utilizing solar light, contributing to a carbon-neutral process. The scale-up of such a combined photobiological-photochemical route is essential to bring it closer to the commercial level. Herein, we present the optimization and scale-up of the photosensitized dimerization of isoprene. By designing different reactor setups, flow versus no-flow conditions, and LED lamps (λmax = 365 nm) versus sunlight as the light source, we reached a 2.6 L scale able to produce 61 mL of isoprene dimers per hour, which represents a 14-fold higher productivity compared to our previous results at a smaller scale. We also demonstrated a continuous feed process that converted isoprene into dimers with a 95% yield under LED irradiation. These advancements highlight the potential of light-driven processes to contribute to the energy transition and production of sustainable aviation fuels, making them more viable for commercial use and significantly reducing the environmental impact of the aviation sector.

Modeling microplastic transport through porous media: Challenges arising from dynamic transport behavior

Modelling microplastic transport through porous media, such as soils and aquifers, is an emerging research topic, where existing hydrogeological models for (reactive) solute and colloid transport have shown limited effectiveness thus far. This perspective article draws upon recent literature to provide a brief overview of key microplastic transport processes, with emphases on less well-understood processes, to propose potential research directions for efficiently modeling microplastic transport through the porous environment. Microplastics are particulate matter with distinct physicochemical properties. Biogeochemical processes and physical interactions with the surrounding environment cause microplastic properties such as material density, geometry, chemical composition, and DLVO interaction parameters to change dynamically, through complex webs of interactions and feedbacks that dynamically affect transport behavior. Furthermore, microplastic material densities, which cluster around that of water, distinguish microplastics from other colloids, with impactful consequences that are often underappreciated. For example, (near-)neutral material densities cause microplastic transport behavior to be highly sensitive to spatio-temporally varying environmental conditions. The dynamic nature of microplastic properties implies that at environmentally relevant large spatio-temporal scales, the complex transport behavior may be effectively intractable to direct physical modeling. Therefore, efficient modeling may require integrating reduced-complexity physics-constrained models, with stochastic or statistical analyses, supported by extensive environmental data.

Wildlife ecotoxicology of plant protection products: knowns and unknowns about the impacts of currently used pesticides on terrestrial vertebrate biodiversity

Agricultural practices are a major cause of the current loss of biodiversity. Among postwar agricultural intensification practices, the use of plant protection products (PPPs) might be one of the prominent drivers of the loss of wildlife diversity in agroecosystems. A collective scientific assessment was performed upon the request of the French Ministries responsible for the Environment, for Agriculture and for Research to review the impacts of PPPs on biodiversity and ecosystem services based on the scientific literature. While the effects of legacy banned PPPs on ecosystems and the underlying mechanisms are well documented, the impacts of current use pesticides (CUPs) on biodiversity have rarely been reviewed. Here, we provide an overview of the available knowledge related to the impacts of PPPs, including biopesticides, on terrestrial vertebrates (i.e. herptiles, birds including raptors, bats and small and large mammals). We focused essentially on CUPs and on endpoints at the subindividual, individual, population and community levels, which ultimately linked with effects on biodiversity. We address both direct toxic effects and indirect effects related to ecological processes and review the existing knowledge about wildlife exposure to PPPs. The effects of PPPs on ecological functions and ecosystem services are discussed, as are the aggravating or mitigating factors. Finally, a synthesis of knowns and unknowns is provided, and we identify priorities to fill gaps in knowledge and perspectives for research and wildlife conservation.

Soil and water pollution and cardiovascular disease

Healthy, uncontaminated soils and clean water support all life on Earth and are essential for human health. Chemical pollution of soil, water, air and food is a major environmental threat, leading to an estimated 9 million premature deaths worldwide. The Global Burden of Disease study estimated that pollution was responsible for 5.5 million deaths related to cardiovascular disease (CVD) in 2019. Robust evidence has linked multiple pollutants, including heavy metals, pesticides, dioxins and toxic synthetic chemicals, with increased risk of CVD, and some reports suggest an association between microplastic and nanoplastic particles and CVD. Pollutants in soil diminish its capacity to produce food, leading to crop impurities, malnutrition and disease, and they can seep into rivers, worsening water pollution. Deforestation, wildfires and climate change exacerbate pollution by triggering soil erosion and releasing sequestered pollutants into the air and water. Despite their varied chemical makeup, pollutants induce CVD through common pathophysiological mechanisms involving oxidative stress and inflammation. In this Review, we provide an overview of the relationship between soil and water pollution and human health and pathology, and discuss the prevalence of soil and water pollutants and how they contribute to adverse health effects, focusing on CVD.

Bending the curve of global freshwater biodiversity loss: what are the prospects?

Freshwater biodiversity conservation has received substantial attention in the scientific literature and is finally being recognized in policy frameworks such as the Global Biodiversity Framework and its associated targets for 2030. This is important progress. Nonetheless, freshwater species continue to be confronted with high levels of imperilment and widespread ecosystem degradation. An Emergency Recovery Plan (ERP) proposed in 2020 comprises six measures intended to "bend the curve" of freshwater biodiversity loss, if they are widely adopted and adequately supported. We review evidence suggesting that the combined intensity of persistent and emerging threats to freshwater biodiversity has become so serious that current and projected efforts to preserve, protect and restore inland-water ecosystems may be insufficient to avert substantial biodiversity losses in the coming decades. In particular, climate change, with its complex and harmful impacts, will frustrate attempts to prevent biodiversity losses from freshwater ecosystems already affected by multiple threats. Interactions among these threats will limit recovery of populations and exacerbate declines resulting in local or even global extinctions, especially among low-viability populations in degraded or fragmented ecosystems. In addition to impediments represented by climate change, we identify several other areas where the absolute scarcity of fresh water, inadequate scientific information or predictive capacity, and a widespread failure to mitigate anthropogenic stressors, are liable to set limits on the recovery of freshwater biodiversity. Implementation of the ERP rapidly and at scale through many widely dispersed local actions focused on regions of high freshwater biodiversity and intense threat, together with an intensification of ex-situ conservation efforts, will be necessary to preserve native freshwater biodiversity during an increasingly uncertain climatic future in which poorly understood, emergent and interacting threats have become more influential. But implementation of the ERP must be accompanied by measures that will improve water, energy and food security for humans - without further compromising the condition of freshwater ecosystems. Unfortunately, the inadequate political implementation of policies to arrest widely recognized environmental challenges such as climate change do not inspire confidence about the possible success of the ERP. In many parts of the world, the Anthropocene future seems certain to include extended periods with an absolute scarcity of uncontaminated surface runoff that will inevitably be appropriated by humans. Unless there is a step-change in societal awareness of - and commitment to - the conservation of freshwater biodiversity, together with necessary actions to arrest climate change, implementation of established methods for protecting freshwater biodiversity may not bend the curve enough to prevent continued ecosystem degradation and species loss.

Managing and mitigating future public health risks: Planetary boundaries, global catastrophic risk, and inclusive wealth

There are two separate conceptualizations for assessing existential risks: Planetary Boundaries (PBs) and global catastrophic risks (GCRs). While these concepts are similar in principle, their underpinning literatures tend not to engage with each other. Research related to these concepts has tended to be siloed in terms of the study of specific threats and also in terms of how these are assumed to materialize; PBs attribute global catastrophes to slow-moving and potentially irreversible global changes, while GCRs focuses on cataclysmic short-term events. We argue that there is a need for a more unified approach to managing global long-term risks, which recognizes the complex and confounded nature of the interactions between PBs and GCRs. We highlight where the PB and GCR concepts overlap and outline these complexities using an example of public health, namely, pandemics and food insecurity. We also present an existing indicator that we argue can be used for monitoring and managing risk. We argue for greater emphasis on national and global ''inclusive wealth'' as a way to measure economic activity and thus to monitor and mitigate the unintended consequences of economic activity. In sum, we call for a holistic approach to stewardship aimed at preserving the integrity of natural capital in the face of a broad range of global risks and their respective regional or global manifestations.

Transfer Learning with a Graph Attention Network and Weighted Loss Function for Screening of Persistent, Bioaccumulative, Mobile, and Toxic Chemicals

In silico methods for screening hazardous chemicals are necessary for sound management. Persistent, bioaccumulative, mobile, and toxic (PBMT) chemicals persist in the environment and have high mobility in aquatic environments, posing risks to human and ecological health. However, lack of experimental data for the vast number of chemicals hinders identification of PBMT chemicals. Through an extensive search of measured chemical mobility data, as well as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemical inventories, this study constructed comprehensive data sets on PBMT chemicals. To address the limited volume of the PBMT chemical data set, a transfer learning (TL) framework based on graph attention network (GAT) architecture was developed to construct models for screening PBMT chemicals, designating the PBT chemical inventories as source domains and the PBMT chemical data set as target domains. A weighted loss (LW) function was proposed and proved to mitigate the negative impact of imbalanced data on the model performance. Results indicate the TL-GAT models outperformed GAT models, along with large coverage of applicability domains and interpretability. The constructed models were employed to identify PBMT chemicals from inventories consisting of about 1 × 106 chemicals. The developed TL-GAT framework with the LW function holds broad applicability across diverse tasks, especially those involving small and imbalanced data sets.

Linking new national active biomonitoring data with stream macroinvertebrate communities suggests large-scale effects of toxic contamination on freshwater ecosystems

Since recent years, an increasingly large number of toxic chemicals enters watercourses threatening freshwater biodiversity. But ecological studies still poorly document the quantitative patterns linking exposure to complex mixture of toxic chemicals and species communities' integrity in the field. In this context, French monitoring authorities have recently deployed at a national scale in situ biotests using the feeding inhibition of the crustacean Gammarus as toxicity indicator. In this paper, we conjointly exploit this new type of biomonitoring dataset and ecological data for macroinvertebrates to gain information about the structuring influence of toxicity on aquatic communities. Especially, we used multivariate analyses with variation partitioning for testing the hypothesis that toxicity (feeding inhibition index) can explain variations in the taxonomical composition between 76 stations on French streams while, for different spatial scales, estimating the confounding influences of other environmental and spatial factors. Our results showed that changes in the toxicity indicator were significantly associated with specific changes in the taxonomic composition of stream macroinvertebrate communities. That association was weakly confounded with the effects of environmental and spatial factors, especially at the largest spatial scale considered. That taxon turnover linked to toxicity was associated with reduced richness at the community scale, and the replacement of native taxa by alien taxa. Overall, our study thus supports the hypothesis that toxic contamination modifies the structure of stream communities and ergo threatens aquatic biodiversity.

Active biomonitoring of river pollution using an ex-situ exposure system with two model species

In the context of increasing pollution pressure on aquatic ecosystems, it is essential to improve our knowledge of habitat quality and its suitability for organisms. It is particularly relevant to better integrate early life stages of fish into pollution biomonitoring programs, as they are reliable indicators of ecosystem integrity and because of their high sensitivity to pollutants. To avoid the influence of environmental parameters on their development, a lab-on-field approach, called the ex-situ exposure method, was developed. Aquatic organisms were exposed to a continuous flux of water under semi-controlled temperature, oxygen, and photoperiod conditions to avoid the influence of these confounding factors when interpreting the results. To investigate the potential role of water contamination, this active biomonitoring method was applied to the Garonne River (Southwest France), where migratory fish populations have declined. Two model species from different taxa were used: embryos of the Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) and adults of the crustacean Gammarus fossarum. The results showed a significant impact of water quality on embryo mortality and early hatching in two separate experiments on Japanese medaka. In addition, an induction of feeding rate was observed in exposed gammarids, but no impact on their embryo survival, suggesting differences in sensitivity between the two species selected. Chemical and biological analyses did not identify trace metals, pesticides, or microorganisms as potential sources of toxicity in medaka embryos or G. fossarum. These results raise concerns about the quality of the water in the Garonne River and its toxicity to aquatic organisms.

Acanthocephalans as pollutant sinks? Higher pollutant accumulation in parasites may relieve their crustacean host

Increasing chemical pollution calls for a closer look at ecologically highly relevant host-parasite interactions to understand the persistence of organisms and populations in a polluted environment. The impact of chemical exposure within the host-parasite interactions - particularly the distinctive bioaccumulation behavior of organic micropollutants - can substantially influence the persistence of a species. This significance has been emphasized by previous research showing a higher tolerance of Gammarus roeselii (Amphipoda, Crustacea) infected with acanthocephalans during acute exposure to a pyrethroid. This suggests the presence of infection-related benefits within polluted environments. The present study addressed this complex relationship by investigating the chemical body burden and internal pollutant concentrations of both G. roeselii and its acanthocephalan parasites across a pollution gradient. Specifically, we analyzed 405 organic micropollutants and identified 123 of these in gammarids and their acanthocephalan parasites. Among the detected compounds, 22 are either banned or are no longer permitted for use in Germany. Remarkably, we discovered that the concentrations of pollutants were up to 35 times higher in the acanthocephalan parasites than in their crustacean intermediate hosts. The log KOW, the most frequently used measure of chemical hydrophobicity, could not explain the accumulation. Instead, the accumulation is likely explained by the unique physiology and high absorption capacity of acanthocephalans, combined with potentially limited biotransformation and excretion ability. This results in a redistribution of micropollutants within the host-parasite system, reducing the burden on the host up to 13.9 % and potentially explaining the observed helpful effects of parasitized G. roeselii in polluted environments. Our study underscores the often overlooked but significant role of host-parasite interactions in human-altered ecosystems, revealing how these relationships can mediate and amplify the impacts of micropollutants within aquatic communities. These insights stress the need to consider the pervasive influence of metazoan parasites in environmental assessments and pollution management strategies.

Post-growth: the science of wellbeing within planetary boundaries

There are increasing concerns that continued economic growth in high-income countries might not be environmentally sustainable, socially beneficial, or economically achievable. In this Review, we explore the rapidly advancing field of post-growth research, which has evolved in response to these concerns. The central idea of post-growth is to replace the goal of increasing GDP with the goal of improving human wellbeing within planetary boundaries. Key advances discussed in this Review include: the development of ecological macroeconomic models that test policies for managing without growth; understanding and reducing the growth dependencies that tie social welfare to increasing GDP in the current economy; and characterising the policies and provisioning systems that would allow resource use to be reduced while improving human wellbeing. Despite recent advances in post-growth research, important questions remain, such as the politics of transition, and transformations in the relationship between the Global North and the Global South.

Private, public, and bottled drinking water: Shared contaminant-mixture exposures and effects challenge

BACKGROUND

Humans are primary drivers of environmental-contaminant exposures worldwide, including in drinking-water (DW). In the United States, point-of-use DW (POU-DW) is supplied via private tapwater (TW), public-supply TW, and bottled water (BW). Differences in management, monitoring, and messaging and lack of directly-intercomparable exposure data influence the actual and perceived quality and safety of different DW supplies and directly impact consumer decision-making.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this paper is to provide a meta-analysis (quantitative synthesis) of POU-DW contaminant-mixture exposures and corresponding potential human-health effects of private-TW, public-TW, and BW by aggregating exposure results and harmonizing apical-health-benchmark-weighted and bioactivity-weighted effects predictions across previous studies by this research group.

DISCUSSION

Simultaneous exposures to multiple inorganic and organic contaminants of known or suspected human-health concern are common across all three DW supplies, with substantial variability observed in each and no systematic difference in predicted cumulative risk between supplies. Differences in contaminant or contaminant-class exposures, with important implications for DW-quality improvements, were observed and attributed to corresponding differences in regulation and compliance monitoring.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate that human-health risks from contaminant exposures are common to and comparable in all three DW-supplies, including BW. Importantly, this study's target analytical coverage, which exceeds that currently feasible for water purveyors or homeowners, nevertheless is a substantial underestimation of the breadth of contaminant mixtures in the environment and potentially present in DW. Thus, the results emphasize the need for improved understanding of the adverse human-health implications of long-term exposures to low-level inorganic-/organic-contaminant mixtures across all three distribution pipelines and do not support commercial messaging of BW as a systematically safer alternative to public-TW. Regardless of the supply, increased public engagement in source-water protection and drinking-water treatment is necessary to reduce risks associated with long-term DW-contaminant exposures, especially in vulnerable populations, and to reduce environmental waste and plastics contamination.

Quantifying EDC Emissions from Consumer Products: A Novel Rapid Method and Its Application for Systematic Evaluation of Health Impacts

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are widely used in consumer products and have been associated with adverse public health outcomes and significant economic costs. We developed a rapid chamber method for measuring EDC emissions from consumer products, significantly reducing the time to reach steady state from weeks or months to minutes or hours. Using this method, we quantified EDC emissions from a wide range of products, determined the emission-control parameters, and established their relationship with the EDC content (Wf) and physicochemical properties. By incorporating Wf data from consumer product databases and applying stochastic models, we systematically estimated emissions for 400 EDC-product combinations and assessed the associated exposure and disease burden for the U.S. population. Our results suggest that more than 60% of these combinations could result in carcinogenic disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) above the acceptable threshold. The overall disease burden caused by EDCs in consumer products can be substantial, with DALYs exceeding those associated with other pollutants, such as particulate matter, in a worst-case scenario. This study provides a valuable tool for prioritizing hazardous EDCs in consumer products, evaluating safer alternatives, and formulating effective intervention strategies, thereby supporting policymakers and manufacturers in making informed, sustainable decisions.

Polymer material biodegradation in the deep sea. A review

The phenomenon of marine plastic pollution is now well-established, with documented impacts on marine biodiversity and biogeochemical cycles. In order to mitigate this environmental impact, a significant amount of research has been conducted in recent years with the objective of developing biodegradable alternatives to conventional polymers and their composites in marine environments. The findings of this research significantly enhanced our understanding of biodegradation mechanisms and identified promising candidates. However, the majority of these studies have been conducted in coastal marine environments, which represent a minor component of the marine ecosystem. Recent models on the transport of plastic debris in the oceans indicate that deep-sea environments are likely to be the ultimate sink for a significant proportion of plastics entering the oceans. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the processes of biodegradation of polymers in these deep-sea environments. The diversity and specific characteristics of these environments with respect to degradation mechanisms are discussed. While the majority of deep-sea conditions are not conducive to biodegradation, studies on organic falls (wood and whale carcasses) and a few investigations into materials previously shown to be biodegradable in coastal marine environments demonstrate mechanisms that are similar to those observed in shallow waters. Nevertheless, further research is necessary to reach definitive conclusions. It is essential to extend these studies to a broader range of deep-sea environments. Additionally, new methodologies that integrate microbiology and polymer science are required to accurately assess the process of assimilation of these materials in these environments.

Broad Microbial Community Functions in a Conventional Activated Sludge System Exhibit Temporal Stability

Wastewater microbial communities within conventional activated sludge (CAS) systems can perform hundreds of biotransformations whose relative importance, frequency, and temporal stability remain largely unexplored. To improve our understanding of biotransformations in CAS systems, we collected 24 h composite samples from the influent and effluent of a CAS system over 14 days, analyzed samples using high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), and conducted a nontarget analysis of our HRMS acquisitions. We found that over 50% of the chemical features in the influent were completely removed, and the daily number of detected features exhibited low variability with a coefficient of variation of 0.07. Additionally, we found 352 Core chemical features present in every sample at both locations. We used chemical features to search for evidence of 19 potential biotransformations and detected 9 of these biotransformations at a frequency of over 80 times per day, where evidence for dehydrogenations, hydroxylations, and acetylations was most frequently detected. The daily number of detections for the 9 biotransformations exhibited coefficients of variation ranging from 0.13-0.20, revealing the broad temporal stability for these wastewater microbial community functions. This stability contrasts with the previously observed temporal variability for micropollutant biotransformations, suggesting that micropollutant biotransformations are linked to specialized microbial community functions.

Integrating Time-Resolved nrf2 Gene-Expression Data into a Full GUTS Model as a Proxy for Toxicodynamic Damage in Zebrafish Embryo

The immense production of the chemical industry requires an improved predictive risk assessment that can handle constantly evolving challenges while reducing the dependency of risk assessment on animal testing. Integrating omics data into mechanistic models offers a promising solution by linking cellular processes triggered after chemical exposure with observed effects in the organism. With the emerging availability of time-resolved RNA data, the goal of integrating gene expression data into mechanistic models can be approached. We propose a biologically anchored TKTD model, which describes key processes that link the gene expression level of the stress regulator nrf2 to detoxification and lethality by associating toxicodynamic damage with nrf2 expression. Fitting such a model to complex data sets consisting of multiple endpoints required the combination of methods from molecular biology, mechanistic dynamic systems modeling, and Bayesian inference. In this study, we successfully integrate time-resolved gene expression data into TKTD models and thus provide a method for assessing the influence of molecular markers on survival. This novel method was used to test whether nrf2 can be applied to predict lethality in zebrafish embryos. With the presented approach, we outline a method to successfully approach the goal of a predictive risk assessment based on molecular data.

Microplastics impair extracellular enzymatic activities and organic matter cycling in oligotrophic sandy marine sediments

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous and constantly accumulating in the marine environment, especially sediments. Yet, it is not well clarified if and how their carbon backbone could interact with surrounding sediments, eventually impairing key benthic processes. We assessed the effects of a 'pulse' contamination event of MPs on sedimentary organic matter (OM) quantity, quality and extracellular enzymatic activities (EEAs), which are well established descriptors of benthic ecosystem functioning. Marine sediments were exposed for 30 days to environmentally relevant concentrations (∼0.2 % in weight) of naturally weathered particles (size range 70-210 μm) of polyurethane, polyethylene, and a mixture of the most common polymers that are documented to accumulate in marine sediments. Despite the low concentration, contaminated sediments showed significantly different composition of OM, showing a decrease in lipid content and increase in protein. Moreover, we document a significant decrease (over 25 %) in quantity of biopolymeric C already after 15 days of exposure, compared to controls. Contaminated sediments showed lower C degradation rates (up to -40 %) and altered EEAs, with alkaline phosphatase being ∼50 % enhanced and aminopeptidase being reduced over 35 % compared to control treatments. Overall, the effects generated by the mixture of polymers were smaller than those exerted by the same amount of a single polymer. Our results provide insights on how that MPs can significantly alter marine sedimentary biogeochemistry through altered benthic processes, that could cumulatively impair whole benthic trophic webs by enhancing the accumulation and possible longer-term storage of recalcitrant organic C in the seabed.

Towards sustainable water reuse: A critical review and meta-analysis of emerging chemical contaminants with risk-based evaluation, health hazard prediction and prioritization for assessment of effluent water quality

Reuse of treated wastewater is necessary to address water shortages in a changing climate. Sustainability of wastewater reuse requires reducing the environmental impacts of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), but it is being questioned as CECs are not regulated in the assessment of effluent water quality for reuse both nationally in Sweden and at the broader European Union level. There is also a lack of details in this topic on which CECs to be addressed and methodologies to be used for assessing their environmental impacts. A better understanding of the ecological risks and health hazards of CECs associated with wastewater reuse will assist in the development of effective regulations on water reuse, (inter)nationally, as well as related treatment/monitoring guidelines. This review provides a list of specific chemical CECs that hinder sustainable wastewater reuse, and also demonstrates a holistic quantitative methodology for assessing, scoring and prioritizing their associated ecological risks and health hazards posed to the environment and humans. To achieve this, we compile information and concentrations of a wide range of CECs (∼15 000 data entries) identified in Swedish effluent wastewater from domestic (blackwater, greywater, mixture of both) and municipal settings, and further perform a meta-analysis of their potentials for 14 risk and hazard features, consisting of ecological risk, environmental hazard, and human health hazard. The features are then scored against defined criteria including guideline values, followed by score ranking for prioritization. This finally produces a unique list of chemical CECs from high to low priority based on risk- and hazard-evaluations. Out of the priority chemicals, 30, mainly pharmaceuticals, had risk quotient ≥ 1, indicating ecological risk, 16 had environmental hazard being persistent and mobile, and around 60 resulted in positive predictions for at least four human health hazards (particularly skin sensitization, developmental toxicity, hepatoxicity, and carcinogenicity). The 10 highest-priority chemicals (final score 2.3-3.0 out of 4.0) were venlafaxine, bicalutamide, desvenlafaxine, diclofenac, amoxicillin, clarithromycin, diethyltoluamide, genistein, azithromycin, and fexofenadine. Potential crop exposure to selected chemicals following one year of wastewater reuse for agricultural irrigation was also estimated, resulting in a range of 0.04 ng/kg (fluoxetine) to 1160 ng/kg (carbamazepine). Overall, our work will help focus efforts and costs on the critical chemicals in future (waste)water-related studies, such as, to evaluate removal efficiency of advanced treatment technologies and to study upstream source tracing (polluter-pays principle), and also in supporting policymakers to better regulate CECs for sustainable wastewater reuse in the future.

Assessing the chemical landscape of the Galápagos Marine Reserve

The Galápagos Archipelago is at the forefront of the Anthropocene, facing intensifying pressures from its growing human footprint and accelerated global connectivity. Despite this, little is currently known of its chemical landscape. This review critically examines the drivers, sources, distribution and fate of oil, plastics, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals in the Galápagos Marine Reserve, identifying pollutant hotspots and evaluating rapid assessment methods and sentinel species that could aid regional monitoring. The cumulative influence of the Galápagos' equatorial position amongst major (and seasonally variable) atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns, along with its distinctive geophysical and environmental conditions, such as extreme UV radiation and precipitation, likely exacerbates the archipelagos susceptibility to chemicals from both local and continental inputs. Point and diffuse sources identified include wastewater/effluent discharge, agricultural run-off, mismanaged waste, recreational boating, commercial shipping and industrial fishing. Limited spatiotemporal monitoring has hindered the identification of pollution hotspots, except for harbours as aggregates for maritime activities and urban run-off, and eastern-facing coastlines exposed to the Humboldt Current as plastic accumulation zones. Furthermore, the remote nature and vital protected status of the Galápagos National Park has constrained comprehensive assessment of chemical toxicity and its impacts on marine species across the reserve, with studies primarily restricted to Galápagos pinnipeds. Thus, there is currently insufficient knowledge to determine the extent to which the widespread but sporadic presence of chemical contaminants threatens the resilience and adaptive capacity of Galápagos' complex ecosystems, unique biodiversity and interconnected environmental processes. Future efforts are recommended to strengthen environmental monitoring and chemical risk assessment through the utilisation of rapid assessment tools and regional sentinel species, enhancing fundamental understanding of the chemical landscape in this global conservation Hope Spot, as well as the wider implications of the Anthropocene on diverse, dynamic and remote island ecosystems.

Cryptic species complex shows population-dependent, rather than lineage-dependent tolerance to a neonicotinoid

Cryptic species are rarely considered in ecotoxicology, resulting in misleading outcomes when using a single morphospecies that encompasses multiple cryptic species. This oversight contributes to the lack of reproducibility in ecotoxicological experiments and promotes unreliable extrapolations. The important question of ecological differentiation and the sensitivity of cryptic species is rarely tackled, leaving a substantial knowledge gap regarding the vulnerability of individual cryptic species within species complexes. In times of agricultural intensification and the frequent use of pesticides, there is an urgent need for a better understanding of the vulnerability of species complexes and possible differences in adaptive processes. We used the cryptic species complex of the aquatic amphipod Gammarus roeselii, which comprises at least 13 genetic mtDNA lineages and spans from small-scale endemic lineages in Greece to a large-scale widely distributed lineage in central Europe. We exposed eleven populations belonging to four lineages to the neonicotinoid thiacloprid in an acute toxicity assay. We recorded various environmental variables in each habitat to assess the potential pre-exposure of the populations to contaminants. Our results showed that the populations differed up to 4-fold in their tolerances. The lineage identity had a rather minor influence, suggesting that the cryptic species complex G. roeselii does not differ significantly in tolerance to the neonicotinoid thiacloprid. However, the observed population differentiation implies that recent pre-exposure to thiacloprid (or similar substances) or general habitat contamination has triggered adaptive processes. Though, the extent to which these mechanisms are equally triggered in all lineages needs to be addressed in the future. Our study provides two key findings: Firstly, it shows that observed phylogenetic differences within the G. roeselii species complex did not reveal differences in thiacloprid tolerance. Second, it confirms that differentiation occurs at the population level, highlighting that susceptibility to toxicants is population-dependent. The population-specific differences were within the range of accepted intraspecific variability from a regulatory standpoint. From an evolutionary-ecological perspective, it remains intriguing to observe how persistent stresses will continue to influence tolerance and whether different populations are on distinct pathways of adaptation. Given that the potential selection process has only lasted a relatively short number of generations, it is crucial to monitor these populations in the future, as even brief exposure periods significantly impact evolutionary responses.

Bio-Food Quality, Environmental Pollution, and the Role of Algae in Promoting Human Health and Sustainability

Healthcare resources have changed fundamentally compared to decades ago. Modern bio-food products and sustainable solutions for their production have increased the attention of researchers, taking into account the current level of pollution of the earth and atmosphere along with modern technologies applied to processed foods. Therefore, this review aims to highlight: (1) the impact and relationship between the physiological parameters of the atmosphere, solar radiation and soil, (in terms of their composition and stages of formation and organization) along with the evolution to modern life; (2) the environmental impacts on algae, living organisms, food, and human health and sustainability. In addition, we address the significant impact of algae as a sustainable resource in reducing environmental pollution contributing to a healthier life.

Structure confirmation, reactivity, bacterial mutagenicity and quantification of 2,2,4-tribromo-5-hydroxycyclopent-4-ene-1,3-dione in drinking water

The presence of two new disinfectant by-product (DBP) groups in the UK was recently shown using non-target analysis, halogenated-hydroxycyclopentenediones and halogenated-methanesulfonic acids. In this work, we confirmed the structure of 2,2,4-tribromo-5-hydroxycyclopent-4-ene-1,3-dione (TBHCD), and quantified it together with dibromomethanesulfonic acid at 122 ± 34 and 326 ± 157 ng L-1 on average in London's drinking water, respectively (n = 21). We found TBHCD to be photolabile and unstable in tap water and at alkaline pH. Furthermore, spectral and computational data for TBHCD and three other halogenated-hydroxycyclopentenediones indicated they could act as a source of radicals in water and in the body. Importantly, TBHCD was calculated to have a 14.5 kcal mol-1 lower C-Br bond dissociation enthalpy than the N-Br bond of N-bromosuccinimide, a common radical substitution reagent used in organic synthesis. TBHCD was mutagenic in Salmonella/microsome assays using strains TA98, TA100 and TA102. This work reveals the unique features, activity and toxicity of trihalogenated hydroxycyclopent-4-ene-1,3-diones, prompting a need to more comprehensively assess their risks.

The Impact of Urban Pollution on Plasmid-Mediated Resistance Acquisition in Enterobacteria from a Tropical River

Background: The exposure of environmental bacteria to contaminants in aquatic ecosystems accelerates the dissemination of antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) through horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Methods: In this study, we sampled three locations along a contamination gradient of a polluted river, focusing on isolating Enterobacteria from the surface waters to investigate the relationship between urban pollution and antibiotic resistance. The genomes of 15 isolates (5 per site) were sequenced to identify plasmid-borne ARGs and their association with resistance phenotypes. Results: Isolates from the site with the highest contamination (Site 3) showeda larger number of ARGs, plasmids, and resistance phenotypes. Notably, one of the isolates analyzed, E. coli A231-12, exhibited phenotypic resistance to seven antibiotics, presumably conferred by a single plasmid carrying 12 ARGs. Comparative analysis of this plasmid revealed its close evolutionary relationship with another IncH plasmid hosted by Salmonella enterica, underscoring its high ARG burden in the aquatic environment. Other plasmids identified in our isolates carried sul and dfrA genes, conferring resistance to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, a commonly prescribed antibiotic combination in clinical settings. Conclusions: These results highlight the critical need to expand research on the link between pollution and plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance in aquatic ecosystems, which can act as reservoirs of ARGs.

Mission-oriented innovation for sustainable polymers in liquid formulation

Industrial chemical producers and formulators are increasingly conscious of their responsibility in stewarding planetary resources and minimizing harm to the environment. In 2019, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) engaged an industry task force from across the value chain to drive technical research to classify a new class of polymer-polymers in liquid formulation (PLFs). Building on this, the task force called for step change in sustainability practices for PLFs and instigated a design and development process to identify research themes and priorities that could accelerate innovation in this area. However, a key challenge was that as a novel classification, PLFs were largely unknown outside the chemistry community and entirely absent from the mainstream research agenda. To establish the demand-pull requirements of the value chain for sustainable PLFs, the RSC used a 'mission-oriented' innovation framework to enable the taskforce to co-design an ideal-type portfolio of research and innovation projects, and to set out a realistic roadmap for transition. This perspective article presents a summary of the activities carried out by the task force in its pursuit of mission-oriented innovation for PLFs and describes the strategic design method used to enable cross-value chain consensus on action for PLF sustainability, build system-wide innovation ecosystems and explore common-good scenarios. This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'Green carbon for the chemical industry of the future'.

Global-SHANEL Asia model predicting chemical concentration in rivers with high spatio-temporal resolution, suitable for climate change scenarios

Assessing the concentrations of various chemicals in river water is critical for ensuring global environmental sustainability. There is an increasing need to assess water risks in southeast Asia due to the increasing chemical pollution associated with the rapid economic growth and abnormal weather. Although AIST-SHANEL, a model for analyzing chemical concentrations in river water based on the characteristics of individual rivers and meteorological conditions, is useful for assessing the water risks, this model currently only applies to Japanese rivers due to the lack of global data. To facilitate the high-spatio-temporal-resolution exposure assessment for aquatic organisms systems in southeast Asia, we built a Global-SHANEL Asia model (expanded model of the AIST-SHANEL) by collecting and processing open geospatial and meteorological data in Asia. Estimated river flow rates and concentrations of linear alkyl benzenesulfonic acid (LAS) were compared to measured values. Our model precisely estimated the seasonal variation of flow rates related to weather changes and predicted LAS concentrations at a practical level (within one order of magnitude). The model visualizes the overall distribution of LAS concentrations in southeast Asia and identifies hotspots where chemical concentrations could increase. The model visualizes the chemical distribution across countries to facilitate risk assessments for chemical pollution in future climate change and population projections. The model identifies chemical pollution and aids decision-making to promote environmental sustainability.