Environmental monitoring articles from across Nature Portfolio

Polyethylene waste progressively decomposed over the past 60 years in a process involving microbial as well as physical and chemical degradation, with a total term of degradation of 670 years, according to analyses of a layered landfill site in Poland.

Spring-induced deep stratospheric intrusion events, triggered by the Asian summer monsoon, contribute to ozone pollution exceeding China’s air quality standards, according to quantified ratio of ultratrace cosmogenic ¹⁰Be to ⁷Be using advanced accelerator mass spectrometry analysis for Xi’an, China.

Chemical derivatization is widely used, but the lack of reference spectra of chemically derived molecules (CDMs) hinders their identification. Here, the authors describe a deep learning approach enabling accurate prediction of ESIMS/MS spectra for CDMs.

Biodegradable plastics, often considered environmentally friendly, may contribute to environmental impacts in natural ecosystems, which are not fully understood due to inadequate assessment methods. The authors develop a life cycle impact assessment method to evaluate the climate-change and aquatic-ecotoxicity impacts of biodegradable microplastics in freshwater environments and support the design of future plastics.

Unsafe water reuse in the informal irrigation sector dominates in the Global South and requires more attention to protect food safety and public health. Promoting formal wastewater use in conjunction with (usually constrained) investment in treatment capacities is not sufficient in LMIC. New approaches and indicators are needed across the formal and informal reuse sectors to increase food safety and monitor progress on safe reuse. Current reuse guidelines need to be updated with greater attention to policy, regulations, investments, and behavior change for a higher implementation potential.

Understanding our water supplies is vital for our health and wellbeing. While traditional water quality analyses require a slow and costly approach, Fluidion deploys automated chemical and microbiological monitoring in areas with impaired drinking water and at the Seine River 2024 Paris Olympics site, enhancing public health and environmental protection.

Environmental contamination is in the news more than ever. Shira Joudan introduces key concepts to talk about what happens to chemicals in the environment and what chemists should consider in their day-to-day lives, both at work and at home.

Proton transfer time-of-flight mass spectrometry offers a new analytical tool to measure aqueous concentrations of volatile analytes in real time by the approach of headspace sampling, holding significant promise for advancing understanding of water chlorination chemistry.

Pollution by per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) is widespread in global water resources and likely to be underestimated, according to global analysis of available PFAS data.

Lisbett Materano highlights how urban dust samples can be used to identify environmental and health risks from air pollution.