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Contaminants of Emerging Concerns in the Water Environment: Sources, Fates,...
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Contaminants of Emerging Concerns in the Water Environment: Sources, Fates, and Toxicity

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Quality and Contamination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 September 2023) | Viewed by 7608

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Salmiati

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Centre for Environmental Sustainability and Water Security (IPASA), Research Institute for Sustainable Environment (RISE), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia
2. Department of Water and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia
Interests: water quality; water quality management; environmental microbiology; phytoremediation; silver nanoparticles
Dr. Shamila Azman

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Water and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia
Interests: microplastics; nanoplastics; heavy metals; plastic pollution; plastic ingestion
Dr. Ee Ling Yong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Water and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia
Interests: contaminants of emerging concern monitoring; environmental chemistry; advanced oxidation processes; wastewater treatment; anaerobic digestion; food waste management; waste to wealth; environmental education

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Contaminants of emerging concerns (CECs), such as antibiotics, hormones, personal care products (PCPs), endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), pharmaceuticals (PhACs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and their transformation products, that occur at trace levels in treated wastewater is of concern for human health and the aquatic ecosystem. The primary concern with these contaminants is their minuscule amount, making them difficult to be eliminated by conventional water and/or wastewater treatment systems. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are critical in separating contaminants prior to discharge into a river system. Due to their persistence in the aquatic environment, CECs are difficult to remove and do not biodegrade fast. These CEC residues ultimately will spread in the atmosphere and contaminate drinking water sources, thus affecting human health.

Current knowledge on the risks of CECs to the environment and human health has been rigorously conducted and well-recognized. However, our understanding on the fate and long-term effects of CECs on human health and aquatic life are restricted and sparse, thereby necessitating more in-depth studies and knowledge. Due to the rapid development of CECs in the environment, implementing cost-effective and sustainable detection, risk assessment, and removal programs for all these elements is difficult. In the meantime, CECs have become a challenge in sustainable water management, where climate change and population growth exacerbate water source issues.

The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together recent research and reviews on CEC-related research advancements in the water environment including their occurrences, fate and transport behaviour, as well as discussions around the toxicity level of CECs.  We also encourage the submission of research needs and toxicological studies that implement efficient and ecological methods for their removal, which help to control CECs in freshwater ecosystems.

Dr. Salmiati
Dr. Shamila Azman
Dr. Ee Ling Yong
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water 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 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • water environment
  • contaminants of emerging concern (CECs)
  • health effects
  • risk assessment
  • aquatic ecosystems
  • toxicity level
  • fate and transport behaviour

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 1704 KiB  
Article
Reductive Degradation of N-Nitrosodimethylamine via UV/Sulfite Advanced Reduction Process: Efficiency, Influencing Factors and Mechanism
by Xiaosong Zha, Shuren Wang and Deyu Zhang
Water 2023, 15(20), 3670; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15203670 - 20 Oct 2023
Viewed by 819
Abstract
N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), as an emerging nitrogenous disinfection byproduct, is strictly controlled by multiple countries due to its high toxicity in drinking water. Advanced reduction processes (ARPs) are a new type of water treatment technology that can generate highly reactive reducing radicals and make [...] Read more.
N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), as an emerging nitrogenous disinfection byproduct, is strictly controlled by multiple countries due to its high toxicity in drinking water. Advanced reduction processes (ARPs) are a new type of water treatment technology that can generate highly reactive reducing radicals and make environmental contaminants degrade rapidly and innocuously. In this study, a systematic investigation on the kinetics of the NDMA degradation via the chosen UV/sulfite ARP and the impacts of some key parameters of reaction system was conducted. The results indicated that the UV/sulfite ARP was an efficient and energy saving method for the reductive degradation of NDMA. A total of 94.40% of NDMA was removed using the UV/sulfite ARP, while only 45.48% of NDMA was removed via direct UV photolysis under the same reaction conditions. The degradation of NDMA via the UV/sulfite ARP followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. Increasing both the UV light intensity and sulfite dosage led to a proportional increase in the NDMA removal efficiency. The alkaline condition favored the degradation of NDMA, with the removal efficiency increasing from 21.57% to 66.79% within the initial 5 min of the reaction when the pH increased from 3 to 11. The presence of dissolved oxygen substantially decreased the removal efficiency of NDMA due to the formation of oxidizing superoxide radicals, which competed with NDMA by capturing the reducing active radicals during the reaction. An analysis of the degradation products indicated that several refractory intermediates such as dimethylamine, methylamine and nitrite were completely decomposed via the UV/sulfite ARP, and the final degradation products were formate, ammonia and nitrogen. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contaminants of Emerging Concerns in the Water Environment: Sources, Fates, and Toxicity)
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19 pages, 5181 KiB  
Article
Distribution of Silver (Ag) and Silver Nanoparticles (AgNPs) in Aquatic Environment
by Zainab Mat Lazim, Salmiati Salmiati, Marpongahtun Marpongahtun, Nor Zaiha Arman, Mohd Ridza Mohd Haniffah, Shamila Azman, Ee Ling Yong and Mohd Razman Salim
Water 2023, 15(7), 1349; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15071349 - 31 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2586
Abstract
Nanomaterials, classified as emerging pollutants that are toxic to the environment, are known to bioaccumulate across different trophic levels in the aquatic ecosystem. This study therefore investigates the distribution of silver and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in the aquatic environment of Skudai River, Johor, [...] Read more.
Nanomaterials, classified as emerging pollutants that are toxic to the environment, are known to bioaccumulate across different trophic levels in the aquatic ecosystem. This study therefore investigates the distribution of silver and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in the aquatic environment of Skudai River, Johor, Malaysia. Water, sediment, plant, and fish samples were collected seasonally along four sites along Skudai River between May 2018 and April 2019. All samples were subjected to Ag analysis using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). The analysis demonstrated that the concentration of Ag detected in water samples ranging from 0.001 to 0.505 mg/L was the lowest, whereas in the plants, 0.235 to 4.713 mg/kg of Ag was quantified. The upper sediments contained 0.036 to 28.115 mg/kg of Ag, whilst fish samples presented the highest accumulation of Ag, averaging between 9.144 and 53.784 mg/kg of Ag. Subsequently, the formation of silver nanoparticles was further proven by TEM-EDX analysis, where the detected size of AgNPs ranged from 20 nm to 35 nm. The overriding conclusion implied by bioaccumulation factor (BAF) and biota–sediment accumulation factor (BSAF) calculations suggested that Skudai River was indeed polluted by Ag and AgNPs. The values obtained stipulated that silver accumulation is occurring at an alarming rate and could therefore endanger fish consumers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contaminants of Emerging Concerns in the Water Environment: Sources, Fates, and Toxicity)
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Review

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18 pages, 1010 KiB  
Review
Herbicide Fate and Transport in the Great Barrier Reef: A Review of Critical Parameters
by Kamrun Nahar, Justine Baillie and Noor Azwa Zulkarnain
Water 2023, 15(2), 237; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15020237 - 05 Jan 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2190
Abstract
Herbicides used for weed management on agricultural land in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef catchments are a key concern for its ecosystem, including the lagoon’s marine plants and corals, whose productivity has been found to decline. The most reliable way to assess herbicide risk [...] Read more.
Herbicides used for weed management on agricultural land in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef catchments are a key concern for its ecosystem, including the lagoon’s marine plants and corals, whose productivity has been found to decline. The most reliable way to assess herbicide risk is by monitoring a site regularly, but this is costly and time-consuming, so numerical simulations and computer models are an alternative method. Despite the availability of low-cost and less labor-intensive modelling methods, they have been limited in their effectiveness due to a lack of specific herbicide usage data and an inadequate understanding of the breakdown and transport processes of herbicides after application. This paper reviews current findings regarding herbicide risk in all Great Barrier Reef catchments according to their agricultural land use, and the most recent Reef Water Quality Protection Plan recommendations. The various pathways for fate and transport of the herbicides were also examined, and a list of critical parameters was developed to help with computer simulations. The accuracy and reliability of modelling can be improved by including aerial drifts, interceptions by crop residues, mechanisms within the root zone, and subsurface and groundwater contributions to the herbicide load in the GBR lagoon. Moreover, the findings will provide new directions for management practices adoption data with the fate and transport model from paddock to reef and improve the reliability of model results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contaminants of Emerging Concerns in the Water Environment: Sources, Fates, and Toxicity)
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Other

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16 pages, 2843 KiB  
Case Report
Occurrences, Seasonal Variations, and Potential Risks of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products in Lianjiang River, South of China
by Pengcheng Zhang, Zuobing Liang, Zaizhi Yang, Qirui Wu, Rui Li, Di Tian, Shaoheng Li, Jieshan Wu, Kun Ren, Lei Gao and Jianyao Chen
Water 2023, 15(6), 1136; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15061136 - 15 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1481
Abstract
Aquatic ecological problems caused by pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are increasingly becoming an issue of concern. In this study, the seasonal and spatial occurrence and environmental risk of 20 PPCPs were studied at 19 sampling points in the surface waters of [...] Read more.
Aquatic ecological problems caused by pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are increasingly becoming an issue of concern. In this study, the seasonal and spatial occurrence and environmental risk of 20 PPCPs were studied at 19 sampling points in the surface waters of the Lianjiang River basin (southern of China); its watershed is about 10,100 km2. Sample preparation was performed using solid-phase extraction, and determination was performed by using a high-performance liquid-phase tandem triple quaternary mass spectrometer. Nine PPCPs were detected with total concentrations of 19.5–940.53 and 6.07–186.04 ng L−1 during the wet (August 2021) and dry (April 2022) seasons, respectively. Four kinds of compounds—sulfamethoxazole (SMX), sulfamonomethoxine (SMM), caffeine (CAF), and florfenicol (FFC)—had a detection rate of more than 50% in both seasons. CAF, carbamazepine (CBZ), and FFC were higher in the wet season than in the dry season in the Lianjiang River possibly due to the higher usage of PPCPs and increased tourism during summer. SMX and SMM showed higher average concentrations in the dry season possibly due to lower biodegradation in the dry season and a slight dilution effect from rainfall. The concentrations of SMX, SMZ, SMM, and FFC were strongly correlated with NO3−, according to redundancy analysis and Spearman’s correlation analysis. The results of the risk quotient revealed that the ecological effect of CAF concentrations on green algae had low risk at all sampling points except R16. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Contaminants of Emerging Concerns in the Water Environment: Sources, Fates, and Toxicity)
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