Reviewers For Environmental Science Research Articles

Statement of Retraction: Enhancing the quality and reputation of Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology journal: 2023 updates

Statement of Retraction: Enhancing the quality and reputation of Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology journal: 2023 updates

(Invited) Electrochemical Valorization of Waste Activated Sludge to Chemicals

Population growth have led to producing more solid waste from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), increasing both energy and cost for treatment and disposal of waste-activated sludge (WAS). If not treated properly, WAS poses serious threats to human health and the environment. The annual production of WAS reached 2 billion tons in 2011 worldwide and it is expected that this number will grow to 9.5 billion tons per year by 2050 [1]. Conversion of solid waste to value added chemicals and fuels could address environmental concerns imposed by the growing of WAS.To confront these challenges, Botte’s research group is working in the electrochemical valorization of WAS to chemicals [2]. In this talk, we will describe recent findings in the electrocatalysis of sludge using transition metals for the synthesis of ammonia and short-chain fatty acids production. Short-chain fatty acids (e.g., acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, etc.) are the intermediate chemicals in anaerobic digestion. The global market demand for short-chain fatty acids in 2020 was 18,500 kt and it is expected to increase annually by 3% per year over the next three years [3].[1] Lemar, M.; De Fontaine, A., Energy Data Management Manual for the Wastewater Treatment Sector. Technical Report ORNL/SPR-2018/14 2017, United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/1432164[2] Jafari, M.; Botte, G. G., Electrochemical treatment of sewage sludge and pathogen inactivation. Journal of Applied Electrochemistry 2021, 51 (1), 119-130.[3] Ramos-Suarez, M.; Zhang, Y.; Outram, V., Current perspectives on acidogenic fermentation to produce volatile fatty acids from waste. Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology 2021, 20 (2), 439-478.

Biogeochemical cycle of mercury and controlling technologies: Publications in critical reviews in environmental science & technology in the period of 2017–2021

The Minamata Convention on Mercury (Hg) calls for global efforts to reduce the release and risk of Hg. A better understanding of the global Hg budget, transformation and transport as well as toxicity of Hg in the environment, and the Hg emission controlling technologies, is important to minimize Hg pollution and exposure risks. Here, we summarized recent findings regarding the Hg cycle, transport, transformation, and controlling technologies, based on publications in Critical Review in Environmental Science and Technology (CREST) during 2017–2021. In terms of CREST publications we first focused on the biogeochemical cycle and impacts of Hg in the sensitive environment of the Tibet Plateau, and technologies being used to control Hg0 emission from thermal power plants. Second, we discussed the roles of forest in the global cycle of Hg. Third, we reviewed the transport of Hg at artisanal and small-scale gold mining sites, and the mobility and transformation of Hg species in the environment. This special issue covers the recent studies on the cycle, transport, and transformation of Hg, enhances our abilities to develop better strategies to minimize its risks. There are emerging concerns with climatic change and natural and human perturbations on the biogeochemical cycle of Hg in the environment and futures studies are warranted in these areas as well as the global Hg cycle, transport, and remediation.

Outstanding Reviewers for Environmental Science: Atmospheres in 2021

We would like to take this opportunity to highlight the Outstanding Reviewers for Environmental Science: Atmospheres in 2021, as selected by the editorial team for their significant contribution to the journal.

New measures in 2021 to increase the quality and reputation of the Critical Review in Environmental Science and Technology (CREST) journal

Since its first publication in 1970, the Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology (CREST) journal has served as an international forum for the publication of comprehensive, critical...

Outstanding Reviewers for Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology in 2020

We would like to take this opportunity to highlight the Outstanding Reviewers for Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology in 2020, as selected by the editorial team for their significant contribution to the journal.

Outstanding Reviewers for Environmental Science: Nano in 2020

Outstanding Reviewers for <i>Environmental Science</i>: <i>Nano</i> in 2020

The Use of Ultrasound for the Electrochemical Synthesis of Magnesium Ammonium Phosphate Hexahydrate (Struvite)

As concern increases over climate change, resource depletion, water, air and soil pollution, loss of biodiversity, the agricultural sector is under tremendous strain. Due to the exponential increase in global population, the world has seen a great rise in agricultural productivity1. With the clear global intensification of the agricultural sector, slurry management has now become a serious problem. Agricultural pollution is mainly due to the use of excess industrial fertilizers, nutrients and pesticides, and the presence of harmful bacteria, viruses and other micro-organisms induced by poor manure management in turns causing pollutants to enter soil and waterways (and airways too)1-4. Consequently, the sector has set some urgent priorities, for example by minimizing storage and encouraging the treatment of wastewater and solid slurries, by reducing energy consumption, and by creating on-site renewable energy systems1. Moreover, most of the agricultural manures contain useful nutrients such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), and efficiently extracting them to produce added-value products such as the slow-release fertilizer, magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate (MgNH4PO4*6H2O) or struvite5, could reduce significantly environmental impacts and save on commercial fertilizers’ costs. Thus, it is important to implement novel, efficient and clean environmental and energy technologies with the view of recycling important nutrients from agricultural sludges and wastes. There are various methods to extract these important nutrients, such as chemical, biological and physical3,4. This present work highlights the recovery of these nutrients by electrochemical precipitation of struvite in the presence of ultrasound at various ultrasonic frequencies and intensities using magnesium (Mg) electrodes. It is shown that the combination of electrochemistry and ultrasound6 (20 kHz – 1 MHz), also known as sonoelectrochemistry 7-9, can facilitate and accelerate the production of struvite from “model” solutions, as long as the sonoelectrochemical reactor is optimised. Buckwell and E. Nadeu, Nutrient Recovery and Reuse (NRR) in European agriculture. A review of the issues, opportunities, and actions. RISE Foundation, Brussels, 2016.A. Sutton, C.M. Howard, J.W. Erisman, G. Billen, A. Bleeker, P. Grennfelt, H. van Grinsven, B. Grizzetti, (Eds.). The European Nitrogen Assessment. Cambridge University, Press Cambridge. 2011.M. Mehta, W.O. Khunjar, V. Nguyen, S. Tait and D.J. Batstone, Technologies to Recover Nutrients from Waste Streams: A Critical Review, Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 45:4, 385-427, 2015.Huang, P. Zhang, Z. Zhang, J. Liu, J. Xiao and F. Gao, Simultaneous Removal of Ammonia Nitrogen and Recovery of Phosphate from Swine Wastewater by Struvite Electrochemical Precipitation and Recycling Technology, Journal of Cleaner Production, 127, 302-310, 2016.Moussa, G. Maurin, C. Gabrielli, and M. Ben Amor, Electrochemical Precipitation of Struvite, Electrochem. Solid-State Lett. 9(6), C97-C101, 2006.Yasui, Acoustic Cavitation and Bubble Dynamics, B.G. Pollet & M. Ashokkumar (Eds), SpringerBriefs, 10.1007/978-3-319- 68237-2, 2018.G. Pollet (Ed), Power ultrasound in electrochemistry: from versatile laboratory tool to engineering solution, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ, USA (2012) ISBN: 978-0-470-97424-7.G. Pollet, A short introduction to Sonoelectrochemistry. Electrochem. Soc. Interface 2018, 27, 41–4.G. Pollet, M. Ashokkumar, Introduction to Ultrasound, Sonochemistry and Sonoelectrochemistry; B.G. Pollet, M. Ashokkumar (Eds); SpringerBriefs: Berlin, Germany, 2019; in press.

Outstanding Reviewers for Environmental Science: Nano in 2016

Outstanding Reviewers for Environmental Science: Nano in 2016

Outstanding Reviewers for Environmental Science: Processes &amp; Impacts in 2016

Outstanding Reviewers for Environmental Science: Processes &amp; Impacts in 2016

Response to the comment on “Copper metallurgical slags - current knowledge and fate: A review”

We have gone through the comments on our review paper entitled: “Copper metallurgical slags–current knowledge and fate: a review” published recently in the Critical Reviews in Environmental Science...

Anaerobic digestion: closing cycles for sustainability

Anaerobic digestion (AD) has been traditionally applied as a way to process efficiently wastes, in order to reduce ormitigate their direct environmental impact. However, research and development conducted during the last decades have transformed AD into a resourcerecovery oriented technology. Indeed, methane, nutrients, water and organic molecules are some of the valuable products that can be recovered from a wide variety of feedstocks. Anaerobic biotechnology has then a great potential to become a relevant technology helping modern societies to advance towards a more sustainable development. The World Congress of Anaerobic Digestion represents the most important international forum dedicated to the discussion and analysis of the state of the art of anaerobic bioprocesses. Its 14th version was held on Vina del Mar, Chile, organized by a group of 6 Chilean Universities, with the support of the Specialist Group of Anaerobic Digestion of the International Water Association (IWA). This special issue of ‘‘Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/technology’’ is presented as the result of the collaborative work of the Journal and the Conference organization. It presents a series of reviews of selected invited authors, dealing with relevant aspects of Anaerobic Biotechnology. Most of the reviews forming this issue have been also presented as key-note or plenary presentations during the Conference. This special issue has been conceived to offer an up to date revision of the knowledge related with a variety of aspects involved in the application of anaerobic bioprocesses. This compilation is then intended to become a valuable tool for students and researchers looking for information about anaerobic digestion, its development, and challenges. Readers will find reviews dealing with the microbiology of anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion is a biological process, then information about the microorganisms involved, its interactions, and the tools to study them are of great relevance. Modelling and control of anaerobic processes are also covered in two separated reviews. These tools can provide great assistance to further understand the complex dynamics involved in AD, and can provide useful tools to assist the operation of the installations based on this technology. During the last 40 years, anaerobic digestion has been increasingly applied to the treatment of industrial and domestic wastewaters. Two reviews are dedicated to cover such applications. Biogas has been conceived as one of the main products of anaerobic digestion, considering its potential use as source of renewable energy. Microaeration can be used as a way to improve biogas quality, by removing hydrogen sulphide. On the other hand, biogas upgrading offers the possibility to add economical value D. Jeison (&) Chemical Engineering Department, Universidad de La Frontera, Av. Francisco Salazar 01145, 4811230 Temuco, Chile e-mail: david.jeison@ufrontera.cl

An online database and desktop assessment software to simplify systematic reviews in environmental science

We describe software to facilitate systematic reviews in environmental science. Eco Evidence allows reviewers to draw strong conclusions from a collection of individually-weak studies. It consists of two components. An online database stores and shares the atomized findings of previously-published research. A desktop analysis tool synthesizes this evidence to test cause–effect hypotheses. The software produces a standardized report, maximizing transparency and repeatability. We illustrate evidence extraction and synthesis. Environmental research is hampered by the complexity of natural environments, and difficulty with performing experiments in such systems. Under these constraints, systematic syntheses of the rapidly-expanding literature can advance ecological understanding, inform environmental management, and identify knowledge gaps and priorities for future research. Eco Evidence, and in particular its online re-usable bank of evidence, reduces the workload involved in systematic reviews. This is the first systematic review software for environmental science, and opens the way for increased uptake of this powerful approach.

Protecting the public through collaboration and shared ownership.

British Journal of NursingVol. 23, No. 9 RegularsProtecting the public through collaboration and shared ownershipKaren ElcockKaren ElcockSearch for more papers by this authorKaren ElcockPublished Online:8 May 2014https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2014.23.9.487AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail View article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byThe contrasting roles of science and technology in environmental challenges27 February 2019 | Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 49, No. 12 9 May 2014Volume 23Issue 9ISSN (print): 0966-0461ISSN (online): 2052-2819 Metrics History Published online 8 May 2014 Published in print 9 May 2014 Information© MA Healthcare LimitedPDF download

Sediment Toxicity Testing of Organic Chemicals in the Context of Prospective Risk Assessment: A Review

Sediment toxicity tests play an important role in prospective risk assessment for organic chemicals. This review describes sediment toxicity tests for microorganisms, macrophytes, benthic invertebrates, and benthic communities. Current approaches in sediment toxicity testing are fragmentary and diverse. This hampers the translation of single-species test results between freshwater, estuarine and marine ecosystems and to the population and community levels. A more representative selection of species and endpoints as well as a unification of dose metrics and exposure assessment methodologies across groups of test species, constitutes a first step toward a balanced strategy for sediment toxicity testing of single organic compounds in the context of prospective risk assessment. Supplementary materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology for the supplemental material.

Uncertain Inheritance: Transgenerational Effects of Environmental Exposures

Andrea Cupp made a serendipitous discovery when she was a postdoctoral fellow at Washington State University: While investigating how chemicals affect sex determination in embryonic animals, she bred the offspring of pregnant rats that had been dosed with an insecticide called methoxyclor. When the males from that litter grew into adults, they had decreased sperm counts and higher rates of infertility. Cupp had seen these same abnormalities in the animals’ fathers, which had been exposed to methoxyclor in the womb. But this latest generation hadn’t been exposed that way, which suggested that methoxyclor’s toxic effects had carried over generations. “At first I couldn’t believe it,” says Cupp’s advisor, Michael Skinner, a biochemist and Washington State professor. “But then we repeated the breeding experiments and found that the results held up.” Skinner and Cupp, who is now a professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, published their findings in 2005.1 Since that paper—which showed that reproductive effects not just from methoxyclor but also from the fungicide vinclozolin persisted for at least four generations—the number of published articles reporting similar transgenerational findings has increased steadily. “In the last year and half there’s been an explosion in studies showing transgenerational effects from exposure to a wide array of environmental stressors,” says Lisa Chadwick, a program administrator at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). “This is a field that’s really starting to take off.” According to Chadwick, the new findings compel a reevaluation of how scientists perceive environmental health threats. “We have to think more long-term about the effects of chemicals that we’re exposed to every day,” she says. “This new research suggests they could have consequences not just for our own health and for that of our children, but also for the health of generations to come.” Figure 1 Glossary The NIEHS recently issued requests for applications totaling $3 million for research on transgenerational effects in mammals.2 Chadwick says funded studies will address two fundamental data needs, one pertaining to potential transgenerational mechanisms and another to the number of chemicals thought to exert these effects. These studies will extend to what’s known as the F3 generation—the great-grandchildren of the originally exposed animal. That’s because chemicals given to pregnant females (the F0 generation) interact not only with the fetal offspring (the F1 generation) but also the germ cells developing within those offspring, which mature into the sperm and eggs that give rise to the F2 generation. Thus, the F3 animals are the first generation to be totally unexposed to the original agent. Effects that extend to the F2 generation are known as “multigenerational,” whereas those that extend to the F3 generation are known as “transgenerational.”3 Transgenerational effects have now been reported for chemicals including permethrin, DEET, bisphenol A, certain phthalates, dioxin, jet fuel mixtures, nicotine, and tributyltin, among others. Most of these findings come from rodent studies.4,5,6,7 But preliminary evidence that chemical effects can carry over generations in humans is also emerging, although no F3 data have been published yet. Given the challenges of tracking effects over multiple human lifespans, the evidence is more difficult to interpret, particularly with respect to potential mechanisms, says Tessa Roseboom, a professor of early development and health at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Still, some reports have linked nutritional deficiencies from famine and exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES)—a nonsteroidal estrogen used to protect against miscarriage from the 1940s to the 1970s—to effects that persist among the grandchildren of exposed women.8,9,10,11,12,13

Arsenical Association: Inorganic Arsenic May Accumulate in the Meat of Treated Chickens

Until recently, chicken producers would routinely supplement poultry feed with a growth-promoting arsenical drug called roxarsone, which also treats intestinal parasites in the birds and gives their meat an appealing pink color. A study in this issue of EHP shows that inorganic arsenic (iAs) accumulates in the breast meat of broiler chickens, potentially as a result of treatment with roxarsone.1 In 2011 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that the livers of roxarsone-treated chickens had elevated levels of iAs,2 a known human carcinogen.3 In response, roxarsone’s manufacturer, Pfizer, voluntarily pulled the drug off the U.S. market, although it is still sold overseas, and a similar arsenical drug is still available in the United States.4 Sampling for the new study took place between December 2010 and June 2011, before Pfizer withdrew roxarsone from the U.S. market. Roxarsone is an organic form of arsenic, which although less toxic to humans than the inorganic species implicated in cancer, has been shown to affect the growth of endothelial cells in culture.5 When roxarsone was approved by the FDA it was believed the drug passed through chickens unchanged. The FDA and new EHP studies each suggest that roxarsone can transform into iAs and accumulate in the edible portions of the birds, making the toxic metal available for human consumption. For the current study, lead author Keeve Nachman, director of the Farming for the Future program at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, and colleagues analyzed chicken breast meat samples from three categories: 1) conventional chickens for which arsenical drug use was permitted (69 samples); 2) conventional antibiotic-free chickens for which arsenical drug use was unlikely but possible since arsenical drugs are not considered antibiotics (34 samples); and 3) chickens certified as organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which are not fed roxarsone and other arsenical feed additives (37 samples). The samples came from 82 stores in 10 U.S. metropolitan areas. Some of the samples underwent arsenic speciation, and for a subset of these the authors compared paired cooked and raw samples. The results showed that iAs was highest in cooked conventional chicken meat (with a geometric mean of 1.8 µg/kg) and lowest in cooked organic chicken meat (with a geometric mean of 0.6 µg/kg). According to Nachman, arsenic found in organic chicken meat reflects exposure from other potential sources, such as drinking water. In addition, chicken meat with detectable roxarsone had higher iAs concentrations than chicken meat without detectable roxarsone.1 Inorganic arsenic detected in chicken meat could reflect dosing of birds with arsenical drugs. The study authors also performed a risk analysis based on iAs concentrations measured in their samples, estimates of the amount of chicken consumed over a 70-year lifetime, and the relationship between iAs consumption and the risk of cancer. Based on these assessments, they estimated that if all chicken producers were to use arsenic-based drugs, the added iAs exposure from consuming chicken would result in an additional 3.7 bladder and/or lung cancers per 100,000 people, or an average of 124 cancers in the United States per year.1 “Our study gives the FDA a clear rationale for withdrawing its approval for roxarsone and potentially other arsenic-based drugs in animal agriculture,” Nachman says. The authors’ risk assessment assumed a cancer slope factor for iAs that’s more than 17 times higher than the cancer slope factor adopted by the EPA in 1998 for skin cancer.6 According to Yu Chen, an associate professor at the New York University School of Medicine, the higher value reflects epidemiological evidence from studies conducted in Taiwan suggesting heightened risks for bladder and lung cancer from iAs exposure. But the higher cancer slope factor—which was proposed by the EPA in 2010 and has since been withdrawn pending further agency review—has been heavily disparaged by industry stakeholders, who criticize the methods and data used by the EPA in its dose–response assessment.7 A National Research Council panel is currently evaluating the EPA’s toxicological assessment of iAs. In the meantime, Amy Sapkota, an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Health who was not involved in the study, argues that the study is strong. She says, “It provides FDA with good data about whether it should formally withdraw the use of arsenicals from chicken production in the U.S.”

The Race for Visibility and Value

We the members of the Editorial team of Indian Journal of Microbiology (INJM) are extremely thankful to all those who believe in the values of this journal. This is evident from the fact that quite a few of you have published your quality work with us. In the present scenario, the value of the work is judged from the citations it receives, which happens with time only. However, at the time of publication, people judge the quality of the work from the impact factor (IF) of the journal, where your precious work has been published. Now, this race to get recognized through IF is getting fierce. We are left with hardly any option but to participate in it and run, that too very fast lest we are left behind among the muck. It is important to move forward and get recognized. It’s time to have a few wins among your precious possessions. IF of INJM for 2012 will be declared very soon in June/July 2013. Since it will be based on the papers published in 2010 and 2011 but cited in 2012, there is little which we can do now. We will be facing the reality and hoping for the best to achieve a respectable IF. Our hopes are quite high in view of the fact that there are quite a few papers which have been cited in Journals of high IF, such as—Nature Reviews Microbiology, Biotechnology Advances, Current Opinion in Biotechnology, Critical Reviews in Environmental Science, FEMS Microbiology, Infection and Immunity, ISME Journal, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Bioresource Technology, PLoS One, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, etc. We must acknowledge the authors of these contributions, which have taken INJM to a higher platform and improved it visibility among the researchers worldwide. It also gives confidence to those who hesitate to publish their prestigious and important works in INJM, fearing that these may go unnoticed. With around 6,500 subscribers and 3,400 Life members of AMI going through these articles, INJM is as good as an “Open Access” journal. Since we have already seen Vol. 53(1) of INJM in March 2013, so in our own interest, we need to act in a focused manner. To enhance the visibility of our work we need to cite our present work (published in INJM) in our subsequent publications (in journals other than INJM) but to get it recognized (enhanced IF of INJM) we need to cite papers (of other authors, self citation will not prove effective) preferably from INJM published in 2011, 2012, 2013 and from Online First papers as well. INJM Vol. 53(2) is in your hands and you can expect the rest to follow soon. We very strongly believe that you will be submitting your innovative and novel works in future as well and the citations of your work will help us improve the status and image of INJM.

Effects of Vegetation Restoration on Soil Conservation and Sediment Loads in China: A Critical Review

China has been one of the countries suffering from the most serious soil erosion, which has severely degraded soil productivity and water quality, thus affecting agricultural activities and hindering economic and social development. During the past few decades, a large amount of effort has been made to combat soil erosion. Vegetation restoration as a major strategy is given equal importance compared to engineering measures. Although a measure of success has been achieved, many uncertainties remain unanswered such as to what extent the vegetation restoration has reduced soil erosion and sediment loads especially in large river systems. This paper first analyzes the impacts of vegetation restoration on soil erosion and sediment loads in terms of vegetation cover and vegetation species. Then, the spatial scale effect of soil erosion reduction benefit resulting from vegetation restoration is elaborated. Soil erosion reduction benefit decreases with increased vegetation planting area. In addition, a comprehensive discussion about the disputes between vegetation restoration and engineering measures is made by integrating published studies spanning large spatial and temporal scales. Finally, future research needs regarding vegetation restoration efforts are given. In order to evaluate the effects of vegetation restoration programs on soil erosion, assessments in shorter time interval and larger spatial scale should be undertaken. Further, the present assessment system mainly based on simple statistical methods has to be improved. Specific areas demanding immediate attention, including the western China in general and the upper Yangtze River basin in particular, are highlighted as well. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology to view the supplemental file.

Human Exposure to Antimony. IV. Contents in Human Blood

The authors present an evaluation of published antimony concentrations in human blood. It is the last installment of a series of studies on the use different biological tissues in human biomonitoring that have appeared in Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology. The objective was to assemble and evaluate published data from a methodological point of view and establish, if possible, a range of plausible values for antimony concentrations in whole blood and plasma and/or serum for nonexposed humans. Determining the concentration of antimony in blood is far from straightforward because samples are highly prone to contamination and values are low, close to the detection limits of the techniques available. In combination with the lack of adequate certified reference materials, this makes it impossible to establish a value for antimony content in the blood of healthy, non-exposed individuals based on published values. However, more recent results have opened up the possibility of suggesting a concentration ceiling of around 1 μg L–1. The review includes a detailed discussion of the main problems encountered in determining antimony in this complex matrix that may prove useful as a guide for future work.