Environmental context. Neonicotinoids are a group of widely used insecticides that have been implicated in the deterioration of honeybee health and the declining number of honeybee colonies worldwide. We wanted to find out whether neonicotinoids are commonly present in pollen and honey, which are the main food sources for bees. The results show that neonicotinoids are ubiquitous in the environment where bees foraged, and therefore could pose risks to honeybee health.

Environmental context. Neonicotinoids are under increased scrutiny because they have been implicated in pollinator declines and, more recently, as potential aquatic toxicants. Nevertheless, there is currently little information on concentrations of multiple neonicotinoids in surface water. This paper presents a summary of concentrations of six neonicotinoids in streams from across the United States in both urban and agricultural areas. These environmental data are important in determining the potential risk of neonicotinoids to non-target aquatic and terrestrial organisms.

Environmental context. To understand the behaviour and fate of nanoparticles (NPs) in the natural environment requires knowledge of their aggregation state under environmentally relevant conditions. This work investigates the influence of myo-inositol hexakisphosphate and phosphate on the colloidal stability of CeO₂ NPs, and shows that adsorption of organic and inorganic phosphorus plays an important role on the interaction between the nanoparticles. Surface phosphorus coverage should be considered when predicting the fate of CeO₂ NPs and other similar NPs in the environment.

Environmental context. Conventional pre-treatment methods are usually ineffective for the extraction of bisphenol A (BPA) from environmental water samples. We report that a novel magnetic nanoparticle with double-functionalisation is an excellent solid-phase adsorbent for extracting BPA from river water samples. This study provides a simple but efficient approach for extraction of low-concentration pollutants from water samples.

The mobility of soil organic matter and water molecules has a strong influence on the availability of fertilisers as well as on the fate of pollutants in soil. Magnetic resonance techniques identified two regimes of mobility change on the molecular level occurring on a timescale of 1 year after initially heating the sample. The results can help to understand the effect of soil type and water content for agricultural use and soil protection.

Environmental context. The need for detecting and sensing hazardous materials that can contaminate our food and water is growing each and every year. Regulation of these contaminants to safeguard human health depends on the ability to detect them at ultra-low concentrations in the environment. This work proposes a simple and efficient substrate preparation for detecting acrylamide, a toxic and carcinogenic material usually found in drinking water.

Environmental context. Methylation of sedimentary selenium to volatile dimethylselenide is a natural remediation process for contaminated aquatic systems. We present flux estimates for the loss of dimethylselenide from sediments of an anthropogenically affected lake and observe a 6-fold difference between late autumn–early winter and summer. The loss of dimethylselenide represents a significant sediment loss vector, of the same order as the diffusive loss flux for inorganic selenium across the sediment–water interface.

Environmental context. Humic acids are negatively charged soft nanoparticles that play a governing role in the speciation of many ionic and molecular compounds in the environment. The charge density in the humic acid nanoparticle can be very high and the binding of divalent cations such as Ca²⁺ appears to go far beyond traditional ion pairing or Poisson–Boltzmann electrostatics. A two-state approach, combining counterion condensation in the intraparticulate double layer and classical Donnan partitioning in the bulk of the particle, provides a satisfactory description of the physicochemical speciation.

Humic acids and their metal complexes may be sorbed by the gel used in diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) speciation analysis. Owing to the low mobility of the humic entities, the sorption process is very slow. As a consequence, the delay times involved in establishing a steady-state metal diffusion flux may be in the order of days.

Environmental context. Iron (Fe) isotope analysis is a powerful tool to understand the transport of Fe within and from soils to rivers. We determined Fe isotopes and Fe concentrations of soil solutions at different depths and found that the Fe isotope compositions are modified owing to adsorption onto Fe oxides, especially in the subsoil. Hence Fe-rich capillary rising groundwater or seeping Fe-rich surface water are depleted in Fe and potentially other metals in Fe oxide-rich soil horizons.

Environmental context. Polyfluorinated substances are anthropogenic chemicals that have been widely used in several industrial and commercial applications. Analysis of human plasma samples collected from Muenster in Germany revealed, since the year 2000, increasing amounts and proportion of unidentified organofluorines. The increasing trend of unidentified organofluorines in plasma samples suggests that humans are being exposed to new and unidentified fluorinated products.

Environmental context. Aluminium may be released into coastal waters in dissolved and particulate forms from urban runoff, industrial discharges and acid sulfate soils. Aquatic organisms may experience toxic effects from exposure to dissolved and particulate aluminium. Therefore, the current study reports the geochemical controls such as speciation, precipitation and adsorption that influence the exposure to these aluminium forms in the field and the laboratory.

Environmental context. Various UV-filtering chemicals are added to sunscreens in order to protect humans from the harmful effects of the sun. As a consequence of disinfection processes in swimming pools, sunscreen components may be chlorinated and change their structure and properties, leading to derivatives with higher toxicity. The safety of sunscreen components as well as that of their transformation products during their use requires further study.

Environmental context. Dimethylsulfide (DMS) is a climatically important biogenic trace gas that is emitted from oceans. This research focuses on the spatiotemporal distributions of DMS and its related compounds, i.e. dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and acrylic acid (AA), and the influencing factors in the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea during autumn. In addition, the sea-to-air flux of DMS, kinetic responses of DMSP consumption as well as DMS and AA production are also investigated. This study is helpful in understanding the marine sulfur cycle in marginal seas in China.

A Cu ion-selective electrode is potentially an excellent tool for cupric ion measurements in salt water, but it is prone to poor reproducibility. We show that dramatic improvements can be obtained by using a Cu ion-selective electrode and a one-point calibration method that corrects for electrode fouling. The method shows promise to be used to collect data on toxic cupric ion concentrations in saltwater environments.

Environmental context. The food web behaviours of As and Sb are poorly understood. We compare As and Sb bioaccumulation in a contaminated freshwater ecosystem. Metalloid accumulation decreased with increasing trophic level. Bioprecipitated minerals in microbial mats represent a direct route of uptake (by ingestion) of metalloids to tadpoles, which contained the highest concentrations ever reported. We demonstrate food web bioaccumulation, but not biomagification, of As and Sb. We also report an unexpectedly high tolerance of tadpoles to metalloid toxicity.

Environmental context. Trace metal toxicities to soils and plants depend on residence time in soils, a poorly understood phenomenon termed ‘aging’. Our research aimed to better understand long-term aging by measuring the solubility and toxicity of copper and zinc over a 10-year period after their addition to soils as soluble salts. We determined that, while metal solubility and toxicity did decrease in a decade, the highest levels of added metals (200 and 400 mg kg^–1) still had toxic effects on soybeans.