Journal: Environmental Science & Technology Letters

Abbreviation

Env Sci Tech Lett

Publisher

American Chemical Society

Journal Volumes

ISSN

2328-8930

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2014 - 2019122020 - 202621
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Publications 1 - 10 of 33
  • Long-Term Warming Decreases Redox Capacity of Soil Organic Matter
    Item type: Journal Article
    LaCroix, Rachelle E.; Walpen, Nicolas; Sander, Michael; et al. (2021)
    Environmental Science & Technology Letters
    Globally rising temperatures increase microbial activity, accelerating decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM). SOM has numerous functional capabilities, of which the capacity to engage in reduction–oxidation reactions (or redox capacity) affects nearly all soil biogeochemical processes. How warming-induced microbial decomposition affects the redox capacity of SOM and its functional role in biogeochemical processes is largely unknown. We examined the impact of 15 years of in situ soil warming on the redox capacities of water-extractable organic matter (WEOM). Combining mediated electrochemical analysis with high-resolution mass spectrometry, we assessed the molecular basis for changes in the redox capacities of WEOM within heated (5°C above ambient) and non-heated organic and mineral temperate forest soils. Chronic soil warming significantly decreased both concentrations and inherent electron-accepting and -donating capacities of WEOM, particularly in the mineral soil. This decline was best explained by decreases in the relative abundance of aromatic and phenolic compounds, suggesting that enhanced microbial decomposition of redox-active moieties caused the decrease in redox capacity. Our findings suggest that global warming not only diminishes the size of the soil carbon reservoir but might also negatively alter the ability of SOM to participate in critical redox processes such as microbial respiration, nutrient cycling, or contaminant degradation. © 2020 American Chemical Society.
  • Balancing New Approaches and Harmonized Techniques in Nano- and Microplastics Research
    Item type: Other Journal Item
    Mitrano, Denise Marie; Diamond, Miriam L.; Kim, Jae-Hong; et al. (2023)
    Environmental Science & Technology Letters
  • Robust Solid-Contact Ion Selective Electrodes for High-Resolution In Situ Measurements in Fresh Water Systems
    Item type: Journal Article
    Athavale, Rohini; Dinkel, Christian; Wehrli, Bernhard; et al. (2017)
    Environmental Science & Technology Letters
  • Exploring Outputs of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Panel on Chemicals, Waste, and Pollution Prevention
    Item type: Review Article
    Diamond, Miriam L.; Sigmund, Gabriel; Bertram, Michael G.; et al. (2024)
    Environmental Science & Technology Letters
    The Science-Policy Panel (SPP) on Chemicals, Waste, and Pollution Prevention, now being established under a mandate of the United Nations Environment Assembly, will address chemical pollution, one element of the triple planetary crises along with climate change and biodiversity loss. The SPP should provide governments with consensual, authoritative, and holistic solution-oriented assessments, particularly relevant to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and, we suggest, to issues regarding the global commons. The assessments should be flexible in scope and breadth, and address existing issues retrospectively and prospectively to minimize the high costs to human and environment health that come from delayed, slow, and/or fragmented policy responses. Two examples of assessments are presented here. The retrospective example is pharmaceutical pollution, which is of increasing importance, especially in LMICs. The SPP's assessment could identify data gaps, develop regionally attuned policy options for mitigation, promote "benign-by-design" chemistry, explore educational and capacity-building activities, and investigate financial mechanisms for implementation. The prospective example is on risks posed by chemicals and waste release from critical technological infrastructure and waste sites vulnerable to sea level rise and extreme weather events. Multisectoral and multidisciplinary inputs are needed to map and develop "disaster-proofing" responses, along with financing mechanisms. The new SPP offers the ambition and mechanisms for enabling much-needed assessments explicitly framed as inputs to policy-making, to protect, and support the recovery of, local to global human and environmental health.
  • Potential Role of Photochemistry in Environmental DNA Degradation
    Item type: Review Article
    Ballmer, Eliane; McNeill, Kristopher; Deiner, Kristy (2024)
    Environmental Science & Technology Letters
    Given the severe loss of species richness across diverse ecosystems, there is an urgent need to assess and monitor biodiversity on a global scale. The analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA), referring to any DNA extracted from environmental samples and subsequently sequenced, is a promising method for performing such biodiversity related studies. However, a comprehensive understanding of the factors that drive distinct eDNA degradation rates under different environmental conditions is currently missing, which limits the spatiotemporal interpretations that are possible from the eDNA-based detection of species. Here, we explore what role photochemistry may play in the fate of eDNA in aquatic ecosystems. Since few eDNA photodegradation studies have been performed, we extrapolate measured photochemical degradation dynamics from dissolved organic matter (DOM) and cellular DNA to what is expected for eDNA. Our findings show that photochemistry may dominate eDNA degradation under certain environmental conditions (e.g., DOM-rich waters with no light-limitation) and that photochemical alteration of eDNA may impact microbial respiration rates and the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)-based detection of eDNA. We therefore encourage future studies to analyze the impact of photochemistry on eDNA degradation and provide suggested research directions that could help improve the accuracy of spatiotemporal inferences from eDNA analyses.
  • Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Canadian Fast Food Packaging
    Item type: Journal Article
    Schwartz-Narbonne, Heather; Xia, Chunjie; Shalin, Anna; et al. (2023)
    Environmental Science & Technology Letters
    A suite of analytical techniques was used to obtain a comprehensive picture of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in selected Canadian food packaging used for fast foods (n = 42). Particle-induced gamma ray emission spectroscopy revealed that 55% of the samples contained <3580, 19% contained 3580-10 800, and 26% > 10 800 μg F/m2. The highest total F (1 010 000-1 300 000 μg F/m2) was measured in molded “compostable” bowls. Targeted analysis of 8 samples with high total F revealed 4-15 individual PFAS in each sample, with 6:2 fluorotelomer methacrylate (FTMAc) and 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol (FTOH) typically dominating. Up to 34% of the total fluorine was released from samples after hydrolysis, indicating the presence of unknown precursors. Nontargeted analysis detected 22 PFAS from 6 different groups, including degradation products of FTOH. Results indicate the use of side-chain fluorinated polymers and suggest that these products can release short-chain compounds that ultimately can be transformed to compounds of toxicological concern. Analysis after 2 years of storage showed overall decreases in PFAS consistent with the loss of volatile compounds such as 6:2 FTMAc and FTOH. The use of PFAS in food packaging such as “compostable” bowls represents a regrettable substitution of single-use plastic food packaging.
  • Response to “Comment on Scientific Basis for Managing PFAS as a Chemical Class”
    Item type: Other Journal Item
    Kwiatkowski, Carol F.; Andrews, David Q.; Birnbaum, Linda S.; et al. (2021)
    Environmental Science & Technology Letters
  • Defining Risk-Based Monitoring Frequencies to Verify the Performance of Water Treatment Barriers
    Item type: Journal Article
    Sylvestre, Émile; Reynaert, Eva; Julian, Timothy R. (2023)
    Environmental Science & Technology Letters
    Preventing failures of water treatment barriers can play an important role in meeting the increasing demand for microbiologically safe water. The development and integration of failure prevention strategies into quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) offer opportunities to support the design and operation of treatment trains. This study presents existing failure models and extends them to guide the development of risk-based operational monitoring strategies. For barriers with rapid performance loss, results show that a failure of 15 s should be reliably detected to verify a log reduction value (LRV) of 6.0; thus, detecting and remediating these failures may be beyond current technology. For chemical disinfection with a residual, failure durations in order of minutes should be reliably detected to verify a LRV of 6.0. Short-term failures are buffered because the disinfectant residual concentration sustains a partial reduction performance. Therefore, increasing the contact time and hydraulic mixing reduces the impact of failures. These findings demonstrate the importance of defining precise frequencies to monitor barrier performances during operation. Overall, this study highlights the utility of process-specific models for developing failure prevention strategies for water safety management.
  • Zurich II Statement on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs): Scientific and Regulatory Needs
    Item type: Review Article
    DeWitt, Jamie C.; Glüge, Juliane; Cousins, Ian T.; et al. (2024)
    Environmental Science & Technology Letters
    Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a class of synthetic organic chemicals of global concern. A group of 36 scientists and regulators from 18 countries held a hybrid workshop in 2022 in Zurich, Switzerland. The workshop, a sequel to a previous Zurich workshop held in 2017, deliberated on progress in the last five years and discussed further needs for cooperative scientific research and regulatory action on PFASs. This review reflects discussion and insights gained during and after this workshop and summarizes key signs of progress in science and policy, ongoing critical issues to be addressed, and possible ways forward. Some key take home messages include: 1) understanding of human health effects continues to develop dramatically, 2) regulatory guidelines continue to drop, 3) better understanding of emissions and contamination levels is needed in more parts of the world, 4) analytical methods, while improving, still only cover around 50 PFASs, and 5) discussions of how to group PFASs for regulation (including subgroupings) have gathered momentum with several jurisdictions proposing restricting a large proportion of PFAS uses. It was concluded that more multi-group exchanges are needed in the future and that there should be a greater diversity of participants at future workshops.
  • Assessment of Eco-friendly Gases for Electrical Insulation to Replace the Most Potent Industrial Greenhouse Gas SF6
    Item type: Review Article
    Rabie, Mohamed; Franck, Christian (2018)
    Environmental Science & Technology Letters
Publications 1 - 10 of 33