ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK

TABLE OF CONTENTS XXX

. .

• Description p.1
• Audience p.2
• Impact Factor p.2
• Abstracting and Indexing p.2
• Editorial Board p.2
• Guide for Authors p.8
ISSN: 0269-7491

DESCRIPTION
.

Environmental Pollution is an international peer-reviewed journal that publishes high quality research
papers and review articles about all aspects of environmental pollution and its effects on ecosystems
and human health. The journal welcomes high-quality process-oriented and hypothesis-based
submissions that report results from original and novel research and contribute new knowledge to
help address problems related to environmental pollution at a regional or global scale.

Subject areas include, but are not limited to:

• Sources and occurrences of pollutants that are clearly defined and measured in environmental
compartments, food and food-related items, and human bodies;
• Interlinks between contaminant exposure and biological, ecological, and human health effects,
including those of climate change;
• Contaminants of emerging concerns (including but not limited to antibiotic resistant
microorganisms or genes, microplastics/nanoplastics, electronic wastes, light, and noise) and/or their
biological, ecological, or human health effects;
• Laboratory and field studies on the remediation/mitigation of environmental pollution via new
techniques and with clear links to biological, ecological, or human health effects;
• Modeling of pollution processes, patterns, or trends that is of clear environmental and/or
human health interest;
• New techniques that measure and examine environmental occurrences, transport, behavior, and
effects of pollutants within the environment or the laboratory, provided that they can be clearly used
to address problems within regional or global environmental compartments.

Papers focusing on the following areas are likely to be returned to the authors without
review:
• Routine surveys or monitoring programs primarily of local or regional interest;
• Descriptions of well-known contaminants, such as legacy pollutants, in yet another location;
• Studies relating to waste treatment that do not have specific relevance to pollution within the
environment;
• Synthesis/fabrication of new materials solely for remediation and/or mitigation of pollution without
any direct environmental relevance;
• Nitrogen or phosphorus deposition or biogeochemical processes with little or no relation to
environmental consequences and/or climate change;
• Studies on eutrophication and secondary pollution by eutrophication without illuminating their
governing mechanisms and factors;

AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK 21 Feb 2023 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol 1

• Studies within which the concentrations of toxicants used are higher than those that are
typically found in an environmental pollution context. Authors of toxicology studies must justify the
concentrations that they are using by reference to environmentally relevant concentrations that have
been reported in the literature.

Please DO NOT ask the Editors-in-Chief for permission before submitting a manuscript.
Kindly check the guidelines to determine whether your manuscript is within the scope of
the journal; if yes, please go ahead and submit it.

AUDIENCE
.

Pollution research workers including chemists, toxicologists, environmentalists, conservationists,

botanists, marine scientists, ecologists, biologists.

IMPACT FACTOR
.

2021: 9.988 © Clarivate Analytics Journal Citation Reports 2022

ABSTRACTING AND INDEXING

.

PubMed/Medline
Environmental Periodicals Bibliography
Current Contents - Agriculture, Biology & Environmental Sciences
Science Citation Index
AGRICOLA
Energy Information Abstracts
Embase
Air Pollution Control Association Journal
Biological and Agricultural Index
GeoSciTech
Web of Science
Scopus

EDITORIAL BOARD
.

Co-Editors-in-Chief
Jörg Rinklebe, University of Wuppertal School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Wuppertal, Germany
Trace elements in the environment, Soil, Water, Plant, Environmental pollution
Christian Sonne, Aarhus University, Department of Environmental Science, Roskilde, Denmark
Biological effects, environmental chemicals, infectious diseases, climate change, veterinary
science, wildlife medicine, predatory mammals, raptorial birds, sea birds, fish, internal
organs, reproductive organs, histopathology, morphology, skeletal system, bone density, immune
system, endocrinology, PBPK modelling, blood biochemistry, implantation of PTT satellite
transmitters, immobilization.
Eddy Zeng, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
Persistent organic pollutants, Bioaccumulation, Human exposure, Health risk assessment, Inter-
compartmental diffusion flux, Passive sampling, Wet and dry deposition
Special Issue Editors
Da Chen, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
Environmental chemistry, Analytical chemistry, Ecotoxicology, Persistent organic pollutants, Flame
retardants, Pesticides, Mass spectrometry, Gas/liquid chormatography
Su Shiung Lam, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia
Environmental Technology, Environmental Pollution, Thermal Process
(Pyrolysis, Gasification, Torrefaction), Waste Management, Biofuel, Waste Valorization/
Utilization, Energy Conversion, Water and Wastewater Treatment, Catalytic Application, Green
Material Synthesis, Biochar, Microwave, Wastewater, Pollution Detection/Mitigation, Green
Technology/Chemistry

AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK 21 Feb 2023 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol 2

Editors
Parvaiz Ahmad, King Saud University, Department of Botany and Microbiology, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Microbiology, Plant biotechnology, Nano-biotechnology, Stress Physiology
Michael Bank, Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway
Mercury, microplastics, ocean health, seafood safety, ecotoxicology, isotopic niches, Bayesian
modeling, contaminants
Amit Bhatnagar, LUT University, Department of Separation Science, Mikkeli, Finland
Adsorption, Biosorption, Wastewater treatment, (Micro)algae biorefinery, Resource
recovery, Biomaterials, Nanomaterials, Carbon-based materials, Biochar, Nano-cellulose, Organic
pollutants, Metals, Nutrients
Da Chen, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
Environmental chemistry, Analytical chemistry, Ecotoxicology, Persistent organic pollutants, Flame
retardants, Pesticides, Mass spectrometry, Gas/liquid chormatography
Wen Chen, Sun Yat-Sen University School of Public Health, Guangzhou, China
Environmental Toxicology, Chemical Carcinogenesis, Epigenetic Regulation, Biomarkers
Hefa Cheng, Peking University, Beijing, China
Environmental geochemistry, Heavy metals, Environmental monitoring, Health risk assessment,
Soil pollution, Environmental transport and fate of pollutants, Waste treatment and disposal
Payam Dadvand, Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Barcelona, Spain
Epidemiological studies on the health effects of environmental factors.
Jiayin Dai, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai, China
The distribution, fate, and sources and toxicity of emerging contaminants, especially perfluoroalkyl
substances (PFASs).
Alessandra De Marco, ENEA Casaccia Research Centre, Santa Maria di Galeria, Italy
Impacts of air pollution on vegetation, with particular interest on ozone and nitrogen deposition,
climate change and air pollution interactions and their synergistic impacts on ecosystems, integrated
assessment modelling for evaluating impacts of policies and measures to reduce air pollution,
nitrogen cycle and nitrogen budget and their importance in agricultural field
Mingliang Fang, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Environmental Exposure, Metabolomics, Exposome, Environmental Toxicology, Mixture Effect
Yucheng Feng, Auburn University, Department of Crop Soil and Environmental Sciences, Auburn, Alabama,
United States of America
Soil microbiology, Fecal pollution of surface water, Biodegradation and bioavailability of organic
pollutants, Pesticides, Plant-soil-microbial interaction
Maria Cristina Fossi, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
Marine Pollution, Persistent Organic Contaminants, Aquatic Toxicology, Microplastic, Plastic,
Marine Litter, Ecotoxicological biomarkers, Marine Mammals, Large marine vertebrates,
Endocrine disruptors.
Sarah Harmon, University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken, South Carolina, United States of America
Aquatic toxicology, Water pollution, Heavy metals toxicity, Fecal coliform pollution, Mercury
toxicity.
Pavlos Kassomenos, University of Ioannina, Department of Physics, Laboratory of Meteorology, Ioannina,
Greece
Air pollution, Meteorology, Environmental health, Climate change, Particulates, Ozone,
Bioaerosols, Dust transportation, Vehicle emissions, Noise
Klaus Kümmerer, Leuphana University of Lüneburg Institute for Sustainable and Environmental Chemistry,
Lüneburg, Germany
Environmental chemistry, Aquatic environmental chemistry, Benign by design, Green chemistry, Green
pharmacy, Sustainable chemistry, Sustainable pharmacy, Resources (bio and metals)
Su Shiung Lam, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia
Environmental Technology, Environmental Pollution, Thermal Process
(Pyrolysis, Gasification, Torrefaction), Waste Management, Biofuel, Waste Valorization/
Utilization, Energy Conversion, Water and Wastewater Treatment, Catalytic Application, Green
Material Synthesis, Biochar, Microwave, Wastewater, Pollution Detection/Mitigation, Green
Technology/Chemistry
Montse Marquès, Rovira and Virgili University School of Medicine Laboratory of Toxicology and Environmental
Health, Reus, Spain
Control, monitoring and prediction of human health effects and environmental impact of chemical
contamination, analysis, exposure assessment and risk characterization of heavy metals, persistent
organic pollutants (POPs) and emerging pollutants, food toxicology, biomonitoring and ecotoxicology.
Philip Smith, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States of America
Environmental Toxicology, Ecological Risk Assessment, Wildlife Toxicology, Particulate Matter

AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK 21 Feb 2023 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol 3

Hocheol Song, Hanyang University, Department of Earth Resources and Environmental Engineering, Seoul,
South Korea
Adsorption of pollutants, Environmental redox processes, Soil and groundwater remediation, Biochar
synthesis and application, Multi-functional materials
Admir Créso Targino, Federal Technological University of Parana, Department of Physics, Londrina, Brazil
Urban air pollution, Urban climate, Personal exposure to air pollutants, Short-lived climate pollutants,
Aerosol and meteorological instrumentation
Meththika Vithanage, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
Soil Restoration and Remediation, Water Quality and Water Chemistry, Trace Elements, Antibiotics
and Pesticides, Atmospheric deposition, Wastewater treatment, Landfill leachate
Wen-Xiong Wang, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Metals, Ecotoxicology, Pollution, Biogeochemistry, Nanotoxicology
Charles Wong, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, Costa Mesa, California, United States of
America
Environmental organic chemistry, persistent organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals and personal care
products, metabolites and transformation products, environmental/analytical chemistry, passive
samplers, wastewater, ecotoxicology, bioaccumulation and food web interactions.
Baoshan Xing, University of Massachusetts Amherst Stockbridge School of Agriculture, Amherst, Massachusetts,
United States of America
Engineered Nanoparticles; Organic Contaminants; Biochar; Soil Organic Matter; Sorption Of Organic
Chemicals; nano/microplastic particles
Editorial Board
Daniel S. Alessi, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Environmental geochemistry, Geomicrobiology, Sustainability, Lithium extraction, Hydraulic
fracturing, Surface chemistry, Biochar
Dula Amarasiriwardena, Hampshire College, Amherst, Massachusetts, United States of America
Metal Pollution, environmental trace metal determination (ICP-MS, LA-ICP-MS), metal chemical
speciation, toxic metals in soils, tissue level, elemental bioimaging, nanoparticles in environment,
environmental remediation-metals, humic substances in the environment.
Lian-Jun Bao, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
E-waste, flame retardants, organic chemicals, PAHs, microplastics.
Allen Barker, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Plant Soil and Insect Sciences, Amherst,
Massachusetts, United States of America
Nigel Bell, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
Effects of air pollution on managed and natural ecosystems; radioecology; waste management.
Man Yu Bon, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Persistent toxic substances; Soil contamination; Environmental pollution of electronic waste; Health
risk assessments; Recycling of food waste
Juergen Burkhardt , University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
Mélanie Davranche, Rennes 1 University, Rennes, France
Trace metal geochemistry, Rare earth element, Colloids, Plastics, Organic matter, Solid/water
interface, geochemical modelling, Synchrotron techniques
Jean-Pierre Desforges, Université McGill, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
Marine mammals, immunotoxicity, population dynamics, ecological modeling, ungulates,
ecotoxicology, biomarkers, physiological ecology.
Marisa Domingos, Brazilian Association of Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics, Monte Alegre,Ribeirão
Preto, Brazil
Environmental pollution and climatic change effects on natural vegetation, particularly in the tropics
and subtropics, air-plant-soil interactions in polluted terrestrial ecosystems, physiologic, metabolic,
structural/ultrastructural markers of increased plant tolerance against air pollutants and other
environmental stressors, disturbances on nutrient dynamics in polluted terrestrial ecosystems,
physiognomic/landscape disturbances in polluted terrestrial ecosystems, the search of innovative
biomonitoring technics for evaluating risks posed by air pollutant, ozone, nitrogen and sulfur oxides,
particulate matter, fluorine, trace metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Paulo Renato Dorneles, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil
Ecology of pollutant exposure, sustainable and safe fisheries; mercury pollution, marine mammals
Zafar Fatmi, The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
Environmental epidemiology; air pollution; cognitive effects of air pollution; risk assessment, health
effects of heavy metals
Bin Gao, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America
Biochar Technology, Environmental Nanotechnology, Contaminant Fate and Transport
Peng Gao, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America

AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK 21 Feb 2023 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol 4

Exposome, Environmental chemistry and toxicology, Analytical chemistry, Environmental health
sciences, Gene-environment interaction
Martin Hansen, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
Hormone-disrupting chemicals, endocrine disruptors, organic pollutants, exposome, metabolome
and proteome in animal studies
Frank von Hippel, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America
Perchlorate, OC pesticides, PCBs, PBDEs, PFAS, toxic metals.
Steven Sai Hang Ho, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada, United States of America
Analytical Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, Volatile Organic Compounds, Biogenic Volatile
Organic Compounds, Indoor Gases, Carbonyls, Wireless Sensors
Deyi Hou, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
Sustainability assessment, Life cycle assessment, Environmental footprint analysis, Risk
management, Contaminated soil and groundwater remediation, Heavy metal contamination,
Biochar production and application, Green synthesis of environmental functional materials, Fate
and transport of volatile organic compounds in porous media
Magali Houde, Montreal, Canada
POPs, PFAS, flame retardants, emerging compounds, Bioaccumulation/
biomagnification, Toxicogenomics, Arctic Marine mammals
Zeng-Yei Hseu, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Soil chemistry, soil contamination and remediation, nutrient management in ecosystem,
phytoremediation, biogeochemistry
Paul Jagals, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Environmental risk assessment and impact assessment, health-related water quality, waste and
sanitation, translating environmental health research into policy and practice
M.P. Jonathan, National Polytechnic Institute, Ciudad de México, Mexico
Haider Khwaja, New York State, Department of Health, Albany, New York, United States of America
Air pollution, black carbon, particulate matter, Asian megacities, water contamination
Michael Komárek, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Department of Environmental Geosciences, Praha,
Czechia
Metals and metalloids behavior in the environment, Environmental soil chemistry, Adsorption and
surface complexation modeling, Environmental isotope geochemistry
Patricia Krecl, Federal Technological University of Parana - Londrina Campus, Londrina, Brazil
Urban air pollution, on-road vehicle emissions, impact of short-lived climate pollutants on personal
exposure, and characterization of urban heat islands.
Jurate Kumpiene, Lulea University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden
Risk assessment of contaminated sites, Trace element pollution of soil and groundwater, Soil
remediation techniques, Immobilization of trace elements, Bioavailability, Waste treatment and
waste recycling to soil
Rock Keey Liew, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Pyrolysis Technology Research Group, Terengganu, Malaysia
Waste recovery, Energy, Biochar, Activated carbon, Thermochemical decomposition, Microwave
heating, Chemical activation
Daohui Lin, Zhejiang University Library, Hangzhou, China
Nanomaterials; Ecotoxicity; Nanotoxicity; Bioavailability; Colloidal behavior; Sorption
Rainer Lohmann, University of Rhode Island Coastal Institute, Narragansett, Rhode Island, United States of
America
PFAS, POPs, Passive sampler, Fate and transport, Bioaccumulation
Lisbeth Lopez-Carrillo
Epidemiology, breast cancer, arsenic, persistent organic pollutants, diet.
Stefano Loppi, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
Bioindication, Air quality, Lichens, Biomonitors, Bioaccumulation
Michael Lydy, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, Illinois, United States of America
Pesticides, toxic effects on aquatic systems, pyrethroid insecticides, bioavailability, desorption-
based samplers, sediment-associated organic contaminants, honey bees declines.
Jürgen Mahlknecht, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
Water quality, Hydrogeochemistry, Groundwater pollution, Environmental tracers, Environmental
isotopes, Microcontaminants
Lei Mai, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
Microplastics, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), analytical method development of environmental
microplastics, sorption of organic chemicals, effects of microplastics, fate and transport of
microplastics in aquatic environments
Melissa A. McKinney, McGill University, Department of Natural Resource Sciences, Sainte-Anne-De-Bellevue,
Quebec, Canada
Ecological change, environmental stressors, wildlife toxicology, fish, land and marine mammals

AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK 21 Feb 2023 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol 5

Denise Mitrano, Eawag Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
Water quality analysis, analytical method development, nanomaterials, microplastics (including
nanoplastic, microplastic fibers), life cycle thinking
Amitava Mukherjee, VIT University Centre for NanoBiotechnology, Vellore, India
Photo catalytic Nanomaterials, Nano-remediation of Emerging Pollutants, Nano-biosensors
for Environmental Contaminants, Protein-Nanomaterials Interactions, Green synthesis of
Nanomaterials, Nanotoxicology, Safe and Secure Design nanomaterials
Kunihiko Nakai, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
Heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, epidemiology, birth cohort studies, risk assessment/
analysis, methylmercury, Minamata convention
Bernd Nowack, EMPA Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, DUEBENDORF,
Switzerland
Nanomaterials, nanoparticles, microplastics, soil pollution, environmental risk assessment, life
cycle assessment, chelating agents
Yong Sik Ok, Korea University, Seongbuk-gu, South Korea
Environment and Ecology, Cross Field, Engineering
Elijah J. Petersen, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Cell Systems Science Group, Gaithersburg,
Maryland, United States of America
Nanomaterials, carbon nanomaterials, standardization, nanoecotoxicity, carbon nanotubes.
Stergios Pirintsos, University of Crete Voutes Campus, Iraklion, Crete, Greece
Biomonitoring of air pollution, trace elements and nitrogen using lichens, climate change issues
and lichens, lichens and hydrogen production, lichen physiology and pollution, sensitivity issues of
lichens, lichen diversity and vegetation in Mediterranean ecosystems.
Hakan Pleijel, University of Gothenburg, Göteborg, Sweden
Ozone (effects on vegetation), carbon dioxide (effects on vegetation), urban ecology (especially air
pollution in relation to vegetation), temporal and spatial variation in air pollution exposure, crops
(especially effects of air pollutants on growth and nutrient content), deposition of air pollutants,
weather and climate dependence of air pollution, climate change effects on crops.
Binoy Sarkar, University of South Australia - Mawson Lakes Campus, Mawson Lakes, South Australia, Australia
Biochar, Carbon capture and sequestration, Clay minerals, Emerging contaminants, Nanoparticles,
Microplastics, Soil biogeochemical processes, Soil and water contaminants removal
Sabry M. Shaheen, University of Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany
Heavy metals, Trace elements, Soil and environmental science, Waste management, Risk
assessment
John Ssempebwa, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
Environmental pollution, PAHs, water and sanitation, occupational health
Durgesh Kumar Tripathi, Amity University, Amity Institute of Organic Agriculture, Noida, India
Crop Nano Biology, Environmental Nano Biology, Plant nutrition and nano-nutrient delivery in plants,
Molecular biology and biotechnology and Molecular stress physiology, ,
Dan Tsang, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong
Kong, Hong Kong
Green chemistry/engineering, Soil/sediment remediation, Engineered biochar, Waste
valorization, Resource recovery, Wastewater/stormwater treatment, Catalytic conversion/
degradation, Pollutant transport, Environmental pollution | Sustainable urban
development, Contaminated land and water, Waste management (food, wood, Green
remediation, Wastewater treatment, CO2 adsorption
Jason Unrine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States of America
Nanomaterials, metals, soils, contaminant fate, bioavailability, agriculture, ecosystem services,
radionuclides, synchrotron methods
Jun Wang, South China Agricultural University College of Marine Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Pollution Ecology, Environmental Pollution, Marine pollution and toxicology
Xiangke Wang, North China Electric Power University College of Environmental Science and Engineering,
Beijing, China
Nanomaterials, Sorption, Photocatalysis, Radionuclides, Heavy metal ions, Organic
pollutants, Environmental pollutant management
Courtney Waugh, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Toxicology, disease and immunology of wild, captive and domestic animals
Yanhong Wei, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
Persistent organic pollutants, zebrafish, cardiovascular toxicology, developmental toxicology,
toxicity pathways
Jason White, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America
Nanotoxicology, food safety, bioremediation and phytoremediation.
Paul Williams, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK 21 Feb 2023 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol 6

Toxic trace elements, 2D high-resolution chemical imaging, rhizophere chemistry, soil-plant
interactions, diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT), arsenic/selenium biogeochemistry, bioavailability
of metals, human health impacts of arsenic, cadmium and lead, urban & sustainable agriculture,
advanced analytical approaches for contaminant quantification, soil & water pollution.
Lingtian Xie, South China Normal University, School of Environment, Environmental Research Institute,
Guangzhou, China
The impacts of temperature and pollutants on the functional integrity of the aquatic ecosystems,
Trophic transfer of pollutants in aquatic ecosystems, The effects of emerging contaminants in
aquatic organisms, Endocrine disruption chemicals, The evolution of resistance to contaminants
Scott Young, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Bioavailability, speciation and mobility of trace metals and radioisotopes in the environment and
specifically with the geochemical controls over trace element deficiency and toxicity.
Yunjiang Yu, South China Institute of Environmental Science, Guangzhou, China
Environmental chemicals and health, Environmental and human monitoring, Exposure risk
assessment and management, Environmental toxicology, Biomarkers
Shuzhen Zhang, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
soil contamination, Sorption/desorption of organic contaminants, Bioaccumulation and
transformation of organic contaminants in the terrestrial environment, Applications of synchrotron-
based spectroscopy techniques in environmental chemistry, NOM analysis and effects on contaminant
behaviors
Fang-Jie Zhao, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Heavy metals, trace elements, soil contamination, phytoremediation, food safety, biogeochemistry
Jian Zhao, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
Microplastics, Engineered nanoparticles, Nanoplastics, Toxicity, Environmental Behaviors
Qing Zhao, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK 21 Feb 2023 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol 7

GUIDE FOR AUTHORS
.

Your Paper Your Way

We now differentiate between the requirements for new and revised submissions. You may choose to
submit your manuscript as a single Word or PDF file to be used in the refereeing process. Only when
your paper is at the revision stage, will you be requested to put your paper in to a 'correct format'
for acceptance and provide the items required for the publication of your article.
To find out more, please visit the Preparation section below.

Introduction
Environmental Pollution is an international peer-reviewed journal that publishes high quality research
papers and review articles about all aspects of environmental pollution and its effects on ecosystems
and human health. The journal welcomes high-quality process-oriented and hypothesis-based
submissions that report results from original and novel research and contribute new knowledge to
help address problems related to environmental pollution at a regional or global scale.

Subject areas include, but are not limited to:

• Sources and occurrences of pollutants that are clearly defined and measured in environmental
compartments, food and food-related items, and human bodies;
• Interlinks between contaminant exposure and biological, ecological, and human health effects,
including those of climate change;
• Contaminants of emerging concerns (including but not limited to antibiotic resistant
microorganisms or genes, microplastics/nanoplastics, electronic wastes, light, and noise) and/or their
biological, ecological, or human health effects;
• Laboratory and field studies on the remediation/mitigation of environmental pollution via new
techniques and with clear links to biological, ecological, or human health effects;
• Modeling of pollution processes, patterns, or trends that is of clear environmental and/or
human health interest;
• New techniques that measure and examine environmental occurrences, transport, behavior, and
effects of pollutants within the environment or the laboratory, provided that they can be clearly used
to address problems within regional or global environmental compartments.

Papers focusing on the following areas are likely to be returned to the authors without
review:
• Routine surveys or monitoring programs primarily of local or regional interest;
• Descriptions of well-known contaminants, such as legacy pollutants, in yet another location;
• Studies relating to waste treatment that do not have specific relevance to pollution within the
environment;
• Synthesis/fabrication of new materials solely for remediation and/or mitigation of pollution without
any direct environmental relevance;
• Nitrogen or phosphorus deposition or biogeochemical processes with little or no relation to
environmental consequences and/or climate change;
• Studies on eutrophication and secondary pollution by eutrophication without illuminating their
governing mechanisms and factors;
• Studies within which the concentrations of toxicants used are higher than those that are
typically found in an environmental pollution context. Authors of toxicology studies must justify the
concentrations that they are using by reference to environmentally relevant concentrations that have
been reported in the literature.

Please DO NOT ask the Editors-in-Chief for permission before submitting a manuscript.
Kindly check the guidelines to determine whether your manuscript is within the scope of
the journal; if yes, please go ahead and submit it.

The resubmission of manuscripts previously rejected by the journal is by invitation only.

Types of article
A covering letter is required for all article types. This must explicitly express how the submission fits
the Aims and Scope of Environmental Pollution, and should establish the ramifications of the research
findings with regards to environmental quality, ecological health, and/or human health. Failure to
include such justifications in the cover letter may result in returning the paper to the author.

AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK 21 Feb 2023 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol 8

Research Papers: Full Research Papers should not exceed 8000 words (including abstract, figures,
and tables but excluding references). Please note that small tables and figures each count as 300
words, and large tables or figures with multiple panels may count for 600 or more words. There should
be no more than nine figures and tables (e.g., 5 figures and 4 tables maximum) in the main text. Any
additional figures and tables should be placed in Supplementary Material.

The abstract (up to 300 words), highlights and conclusions of papers in this journal must contain clear
and concise statements. A graphical abstract is mandatory.

Review Articles: Authors may submit manuscripts that provide in-depth critical review of a special
subject. These reviews must provide a Synthesis and Critical Evaluation of the state of the knowledge
of the subject and indicate research directions. The Editors also periodically invite review articles.
Manuscripts should not exceed 10,000 words, as defined above.

We also encourage Systematic Reviews that provide a comprehensive summary and critical appraisal
of existing evidence. They relate to answering a research question, and are conducted using methods
which seek to minimize risk of bias in results and conclusions. A systematic review should include
a meta-analysis, which uses statistical techniques to pool the results of multiple individual studies
into a combined summary result.

Short Communication: Short Communications may be submitted that express opinions and
concerns, suggest research priorities and question conventional methodologies and conclusions.
Manuscripts should include an Abstract, Introduction, Presentation of the Concerns or Analysis and
Conclusions. References, Tables and Illustrations should be used sparingly. The manuscript should not
exceed 12 double-spaced pages. The Editors will evaluate all manuscripts for suitability of publication,
including peer review.

Correspondence: Readers are encouraged to write to any of the Editors (Letter to Editor) and raise
issues and concerns about papers published in the journal. Editors or authors will be invited to submit
a Reply to respond to points raised. The Editor will decide on the publication of Correspondence
and Replies based on scientific merit, importance to the raised issues, and interest to the general
audience. Correspondence and Replies of an unprofessional or unscientific nature, or containing
personal invective, will not be considered.

Corrigendum: Authors may submit Corrigenda to alert the readership to errors discovered in their
articles post-publication.

Special Issues: Proposals for Special Issues of Full Research Papers that focus on a specific topic
or theme will also be considered. Special Issues will be published on emerging thematic issues and
innovative conferences. An Editor or Associate Editor should be contacted early in the conference
planning process to get approval and for guidelines on special issues of the journal. Furthermore, the
Editors or Associate Editors will invite leading experts as Guest Editors for Special Issues. Editorials
for Special issues are submitted by invitation only through the Editorial Manager portal.
Submission checklist
You can use this list to carry out a final check of your submission before you send it to the journal for
review. Please check the relevant section in this Guide for Authors for more details.

Ensure that the following items are present:

One author has been designated as the corresponding author with contact details:
• E-mail address
• Full postal address

All necessary files have been uploaded:

Manuscript:
• Include keywords
• All figures (include relevant captions)
• All tables (including titles, description, footnotes)
• Ensure all figure and table citations in the text match the files provided

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• Indicate clearly if color should be used for any figures in print
Graphical Abstracts / Highlights files (where applicable)
Supplemental files (where applicable)

Further considerations
• Manuscript has been 'spell checked' and 'grammar checked'
• All references mentioned in the Reference List are cited in the text, and vice versa
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the
Internet)
• A competing interests statement is provided, even if the authors have no competing interests to
declare
• Journal policies detailed in this guide have been reviewed
• Referee suggestions and contact details provided, based on journal requirements

For further information, visit our Support Center.

Finally...
As mentioned above, a covering letter must be sent with the manuscript and must include:
•The novelty, scientific significance and importance of the manuscript.
•The name and e-mail address [institutional email addresses ONLY] of the corresponding author.
•The resubmission of manuscripts previously rejected by the journal is by invitation only.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ethics in publishing
Please see our information on Ethics in publishing.
Studies in humans and animals
If the work involves the use of human subjects, the author should ensure that the work described
has been carried out in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association
(Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans. The manuscript should be in line with the
Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical
Journals and aim for the inclusion of representative human populations (sex, age and ethnicity) as
per those recommendations. The terms sex and gender should be used correctly.

Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for
experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.

All animal experiments should comply with the ARRIVE guidelines and should be carried out in
accordance with the U.K. Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, 1986 and associated guidelines, EU
Directive 2010/63/EU for animal experiments, or the National Research Council's Guide for the Care
and Use of Laboratory Animals and the authors should clearly indicate in the manuscript that such
guidelines have been followed. The sex of animals must be indicated, and where appropriate, the
influence (or association) of sex on the results of the study.
Declaration of competing interest
Corresponding authors, on behalf of all the authors of a submission, must disclose any financial
and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence
(bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies,
stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or
other funding. All authors, including those without competing interests to declare, should provide
the relevant information to the corresponding author (which, where relevant, may specify they have
nothing to declare). Corresponding authors should then use this tool to create a shared statement
and upload to the submission system at the Attach Files step. Please do not convert the .docx
template to another file type. Author signatures are not required.
Submission declaration and verification
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in
the form of an abstract, a published lecture or academic thesis, see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent
publication' for more information), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that
its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where
the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in

AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK 21 Feb 2023 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol 10

English or in any other language, including electronically without the written consent of the copyright-
holder. To verify compliance, your article may be checked by Crossref Similarity Check and other
originality or duplicate checking software.
The editors take ethics seriously and check the CrossCheck reports for ALL incoming submissions.
Any evidence of excessive overlap with previously published papers could lead to instant rejection for
offending authors and the possibility of additional, more severe sanctions in the worst cases.
Preprints
Please note that preprints can be shared anywhere at any time, in line with Elsevier's sharing policy.
Sharing your preprints e.g. on a preprint server will not count as prior publication (see 'Multiple,
redundant or concurrent publication' for more information).
Preprint posting on SSRN
In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service. Preprints
provide early registration and dissemination of your research, which facilitates early citations and
collaboration.

During submission to Editorial Manager, you can choose to release your manuscript publicly as a
preprint on the preprint server SSRN once it enters peer-review with the journal. Your choice will have
no effect on the editorial process or outcome with the journal. Please note that the corresponding
author is expected to seek approval from all co-authors before agreeing to release the manuscript
publicly on SSRN.

You will be notified via email when your preprint is posted online and a Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
is assigned. Your preprint will remain globally available free to read whether the journal accepts or
rejects your manuscript.

For more information about posting to SSRN, please consult the SSRN Terms of Use and FAQs.
Use of inclusive language
Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences,
and promotes equal opportunities. Content should make no assumptions about the beliefs or
commitments of any reader; contain nothing which might imply that one individual is superior to
another on the grounds of age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health
condition; and use inclusive language throughout. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias,
stereotypes, slang, reference to dominant culture and/or cultural assumptions. We advise to seek
gender neutrality by using plural nouns ("clinicians, patients/clients") as default/wherever possible
to avoid using "he, she," or "he/she." We recommend avoiding the use of descriptors that refer
to personal attributes such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or
health condition unless they are relevant and valid. When coding terminology is used, we recommend
to avoid offensive or exclusionary terms such as "master", "slave", "blacklist" and "whitelist". We
suggest using alternatives that are more appropriate and (self-) explanatory such as "primary",
"secondary", "blocklist" and "allowlist". These guidelines are meant as a point of reference to help
identify appropriate language but are by no means exhaustive or definitive.
Reporting sex- and gender-based analyses
Reporting guidance
For research involving or pertaining to humans, animals or eukaryotic cells, investigators should
integrate sex and gender-based analyses (SGBA) into their research design according to funder/
sponsor requirements and best practices within a field. Authors should address the sex and/or gender
dimensions of their research in their article. In cases where they cannot, they should discuss this
as a limitation to their research's generalizability. Importantly, authors should explicitly state what
definitions of sex and/or gender they are applying to enhance the precision, rigor and reproducibility
of their research and to avoid ambiguity or conflation of terms and the constructs to which they
refer (see Definitions section below). Authors can refer to the Sex and Gender Equity in Research
(SAGER) guidelines and the SAGER guidelines checklist. These offer systematic approaches to the use
and editorial review of sex and gender information in study design, data analysis, outcome reporting
and research interpretation - however, please note there is no single, universally agreed-upon set of
guidelines for defining sex and gender.

Definitions

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Sex generally refers to a set of biological attributes that are associated with physical and physiological
features (e.g., chromosomal genotype, hormonal levels, internal and external anatomy). A binary sex
categorization (male/female) is usually designated at birth ("sex assigned at birth"), most often based
solely on the visible external anatomy of a newborn. Gender generally refers to socially constructed
roles, behaviors, and identities of women, men and gender-diverse people that occur in a historical
and cultural context and may vary across societies and over time. Gender influences how people view
themselves and each other, how they behave and interact and how power is distributed in society. Sex
and gender are often incorrectly portrayed as binary (female/male or woman/man) and unchanging
whereas these constructs actually exist along a spectrum and include additional sex categorizations
and gender identities such as people who are intersex/have differences of sex development (DSD) or
identify as non-binary. Moreover, the terms "sex" and "gender" can be ambiguous—thus it is important
for authors to define the manner in which they are used. In addition to this definition guidance and
the SAGER guidelines, the resources on this page offer further insight around sex and gender in
research studies.
For transparency, authors must submit an author statement file outlining their individual contributions
to the paper using the relevant CRediT roles: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis;
Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Software;
Supervision; Validation; Visualization; Roles/Writing - original draft; Writing - review & editing.
Authorship statements should be formatted with the names of authors first and CRediT role(s)
following. More details and an example

Authors are asked to think carefully about the eligibility criteria for authorship, and ensure that
authorship is extended ONLY to those who have made substantial contributions to ALL of the following:
(1) the conception and design of the study, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of
data, (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, (3) final approval
of the version to be submitted.
Changes to authorship
Authors are expected to consider carefully the list and order of authors before submitting their
manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any
addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only
before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Editor. To request such
a change, the Editor must receive the following from the corresponding author: (a) the reason
for the change in author list and (b) written confirmation (e-mail, letter) from all authors that they
agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. In the case of addition or removal of authors,
this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed.
Only in exceptional circumstances will the Editor consider the addition, deletion or rearrangement of
authors after the manuscript has been accepted. While the Editor considers the request, publication
of the manuscript will be suspended. If the manuscript has already been published in an online issue,
any requests approved by the Editor will result in a corrigendum.
Failure to observe the process outlined above to request a change of authorship may result
in rejection of the manuscript involved. Environmental Pollution does not permit multiple
corresponding authors.
Article transfer service
This journal uses the Elsevier Article Transfer Service to find the best home for your manuscript. This
means that if an editor feels your manuscript is more suitable for an alternative journal, you might
be asked to consider transferring the manuscript to such a journal. The recommendation might be
provided by a Journal Editor, a dedicated Scientific Managing Editor, a tool assisted recommendation,
or a combination. If you agree, your manuscript will be transferred, though you will have the
opportunity to make changes to the manuscript before the submission is complete. Please note that
your manuscript will be independently reviewed by the new journal. More information.
Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (see
more information on this). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of
the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version
of this agreement.

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Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal
circulation within their institutions. Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution
outside the institution and for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations. If
excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission
from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for
use by authors in these cases.

For gold open access articles: Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a
'License Agreement' (more information). Permitted third party reuse of gold open access articles is
determined by the author's choice of user license.

Author rights
As an author you (or your employer or institution) have certain rights to reuse your work. More
information.
Elsevier supports responsible sharing
Find out how you can share your research published in Elsevier journals.
Role of the funding source
You are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or
preparation of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in
the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to
submit the article for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such involvement, it is recommended
to state this.
Open access
Please visit our Open Access page for more information.
Elsevier Researcher Academy
Researcher Academy is a free e-learning platform designed to support early and mid-career
researchers throughout their research journey. The "Learn" environment at Researcher Academy
offers several interactive modules, webinars, downloadable guides and resources to guide you through
the process of writing for research and going through peer review. Feel free to use these free resources
to improve your submission and navigate the publication process with ease.
Language (usage and editing services)
Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of
these). Authors who feel their English language manuscript may require editing to eliminate possible
grammatical or spelling errors and to conform to correct scientific English may wish to use the English
Language Editing service available from Elsevier's Author Services.
Submission
Our online submission system guides you stepwise through the process of entering your article
details and uploading your files. The system converts your article files to a single PDF file used in
the peer-review process. Editable files (e.g., Word, LaTeX) are required to typeset your article for
final publication. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for
revision, is sent by e-mail.
Authors are requested to choose an editor most appropriate to their research field during
the submission process in the "Provide additional information tab" during the submission
process.
Submit your article
Please submit your article via https://www.editorialmanager.com/envpol.
Suggesting reviewers
Please submit the names and institutional e-mail addresses of several potential reviewers.

You should not suggest reviewers who are colleagues, or who have co-authored or collaborated with
you during the last three years. Editors do not invite reviewers who have potential competing interests
with the authors. Further, in order to provide a broad and balanced assessment of the work, and ensure
scientific rigor, please suggest diverse candidate reviewers who are located in different countries/
regions from the author group. Also consider other diversity attributes e.g. gender, race and ethnicity,
career stage, etc. Finally, you should not include existing members of the journal's editorial team,
of whom the journal are already aware.

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Note: the editor decides whether or not to invite your suggested reviewers.
Authors of Research Papers, Review Articles and Short Communications are asked to suggest SIX
potential reviewers. Reviewers are asked to evaluate the originality, significance and technical quality
of the work, as well as the clarity of the manuscript, and the relevance of the subject matter to the
journal. The final decision for publication of all manuscripts is made by the Editor.

PREPARATION
Queries
For questions about the editorial process (including the status of manuscripts under review) or for
technical support on submissions, please visit our Support Center.
NEW SUBMISSIONS
Submission to this journal proceeds totally online and you will be guided stepwise through the creation
and uploading of your files. The system automatically converts your files to a single PDF file, which
is used in the peer-review process.
As part of the Your Paper Your Way service, you may choose to submit your manuscript as a single file
to be used in the refereeing process. This can be a PDF file or a Word document, in any format or lay-
out that can be used by referees to evaluate your manuscript. It should contain high enough quality
figures for refereeing. If you prefer to do so, you may still provide all or some of the source files at
the initial submission. Please note that individual figure files larger than 10 MB must be uploaded
separately.
References
There are no strict requirements on reference formatting at submission. References can be in any
style or format as long as the style is consistent. Where applicable, author(s) name(s), journal title/
book title, chapter title/article title, year of publication, volume number/book chapter and the article
number or pagination must be present. Use of DOI is highly encouraged. The reference style used by
the journal will be applied to the accepted article by Elsevier at the proof stage. Note that missing
data will be highlighted at proof stage for the author to correct.
Formatting requirements
There are no strict formatting requirements but all manuscripts must contain the essential elements
needed to convey your manuscript, for example Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and
Methods, Results, Conclusions, Artwork and Tables with Captions.
If your article includes any Videos and/or other Supplementary material, this should be included in
your initial submission for peer review purposes.
Divide the article into clearly defined sections.
Please ensure your paper has consecutive and continuous line numbering before uploading
your source files - this is an essential peer review requirement.
Please ensure that any figures and tables included in the single file are placed at the end
of the main text in the manuscript.
Peer review
This journal operates a single anonymized review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by
the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of
two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible
for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor's decision is final. Editors
are not involved in decisions about papers which they have written themselves or have been written
by family members or colleagues or which relate to products or services in which the editor has an
interest. Any such submission is subject to all of the journal's usual procedures, with peer review
handled independently of the relevant editor and their research groups. More information on types
of peer review.
REVISED SUBMISSIONS
Please note that authors have a maximum of 6 weeks to resubmit a revised manuscript,
unless an extension is requested from the editor. When you submit your revised manuscript,
please ensure to remove all the old files pertaining to the original submission and make sure to
have the "Revised Manuscript" under the manuscript category along with the respective figures\tables

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\graphical abstract\highlights. To help editors assess their revisions, in addition to submitting
a clean version of their revised manuscript authors are asked to submit their revised
manuscript with changes tracked/highlighted.
Use of word processing software
Regardless of the file format of the original submission, at revision you must provide us with an
editable file of the entire article. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting
codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. The electronic text should be prepared
in a way very similar to that of conventional manuscripts (see also the Guide to Publishing with
Elsevier). See also the section on Electronic artwork.
To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the 'spell-check' and 'grammar-check'
functions of your word processor.
LaTeX
You are recommended to use the Elsevier article class elsarticle.cls to prepare your manuscript and
BibTeX to generate your bibliography.
Our LaTeX site has detailed submission instructions, templates and other information.
Article structure
Subdivision - unnumbered sections
Divide your article into clearly defined sections. Each subsection is given a brief heading. Each heading
should appear on its own separate line. Subsections should be used as much as possible when cross-
referencing text: refer to the subsection by heading as opposed to simply 'the text'.
Introduction
State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature
survey or a summary of the results.
Material and methods
Provide sufficient details to allow the work to be reproduced by an independent researcher. Methods
that are already published should be summarized, and indicated by a reference. If quoting directly
from a previously published method, use quotation marks and also cite the source. Any modifications
to existing methods should also be described.
Authors of toxicological submissions are asked to report analytical confirmation of their
experimental test concentrations.
Results
Results should be clear and concise.
Discussion
This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined Results
and Discussion section is often appropriate. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published
literature.
The Results and Discussion may be presented as separate sections, or they may be combined.
Regardless of whichever the author feels appropriate, a strong explicit emphasis on having the proper
statistical analysis to support data interpretation is essential.
Conclusions
The main conclusions of the study may be presented in a short Conclusions section, which may stand
alone or form a subsection of a Discussion or Results and Discussion section.
Appendices
If there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as A, B, etc. Formulae and equations in
appendices should be given separate numbering: Eq. (A.1), Eq. (A.2), etc.; in a subsequent appendix,
Eq. (B.1) and so on. Similarly for tables and figures: Table A.1; Fig. A.1, etc.
Essential title page information
• Title. Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid
abbreviations and formulae where possible.
• Author names and affiliations. Please clearly indicate the given name(s) and family name(s)
of each author and check that all names are accurately spelled. You can add your name between
parentheses in your own script behind the English transliteration. Present the authors' affiliation
addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-

AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK 21 Feb 2023 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol 15

case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address.
Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name and, if available, the
e-mail address of each author.
• Corresponding author. Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing
and publication, also post-publication. This responsibility includes answering any future queries about
Methodology and Materials. Ensure that the e-mail address is given and that contact details
are kept up to date by the corresponding author.
• Present/permanent address. If an author has moved since the work described in the article was
done, or was visiting at the time, a 'Present address' (or 'Permanent address') may be indicated as
a footnote to that author's name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be
retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.
Please note:
• Authors are requested to provide only institutional email addresses.
• Ensure that contact details are kept up to date by the corresponding author.
• Environmental Pollution does not permit multiple corresponding authors.
•Should it be necessary, failure to observe the process outlined above in the 'Changes to
Authorship' section may result in rejection of the manuscript involved.
Highlights
Highlights are mandatory for this journal as they help increase the discoverability of your article via
search engines. They consist of a short collection of bullet points that capture the novel results of
your research as well as new methods that were used during the study (if any). Please have a look
at the examples here: example Highlights.

Highlights should be submitted in a separate editable file in the online submission system. Please
use 'Highlights' in the file name and include 3 to 5 bullet points (maximum 85 characters, including
spaces, per bullet point).
Abstract
A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the
research, the principal results and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from
the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, References should be avoided, but if
essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should
be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
The maximum abstract length is 300 words.
Graphical abstract
A graphical abstract is mandatory for all Research Papers, Review Articles and Short Communications
submitted to this journal. It does not need to be uploaded with the initial submission but must
be supplied with any subsequent revisions. It should summarize the contents of the article in a
concise, pictorial form designed to capture the attention of a wide readership online. Authors must
provide images that clearly represent the work described in the article. Graphical abstracts should be
submitted as a separate file in the online submission system. Image size: please provide an image
with a minimum of 531 × 1328 pixels (h × w) or proportionally more. The image should be readable
at a size of 5 × 13 cm using a regular screen resolution of 96 dpi. Preferred file types: TIFF, EPS, PDF
or MS Office files. See https://www.elsevier.com/graphicalabstracts for examples.
Authors can make use of Elsevier's Illustration and Enhancement service to ensure the best
presentation of their images also in accordance with all technical requirements: Illustration Service.
Keywords
Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 6 keywords, using American spelling and
avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of'). Be sparing
with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords
will be used for indexing purposes.
Abbreviations
Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field in a footnote to be placed on the first page
of the article. Such abbreviations that are unavoidable in the abstract must be defined at their first
mention there, as well as in the footnote. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.

AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK 21 Feb 2023 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol 16

Acknowledgements
Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do
not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List here those
individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance
or proof reading the article, etc.).
Formatting of funding sources
List funding sources in this standard way to facilitate compliance to funder's requirements:

Funding: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [grant numbers xxxx, yyyy];
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA [grant number zzzz]; and the United States Institutes
of Peace [grant number aaaa].

It is not necessary to include detailed descriptions on the program or type of grants and awards. When
funding is from a block grant or other resources available to a university, college, or other research
institution, submit the name of the institute or organization that provided the funding.

If no funding has been provided for the research, it is recommended to include the following sentence:

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or
not-for-profit sectors.
Units
Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). If
other units are mentioned, please give their equivalent in SI.
Temperatures should be given in degrees Celsius.
Math formulae
Please submit math equations as editable text and not as images. Present simple formulae in
line with normal text where possible and use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small
fractional terms, e.g., X/Y. In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Powers of e are often
more conveniently denoted by exp. Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed
separately from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text).
Footnotes
Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article. Many word
processors build footnotes into the text, and this feature may be used. Should this not be the case,
indicate the position of footnotes in the text and present the footnotes themselves separately at the
end of the article.
Artwork
Image manipulation
Whilst it is accepted that authors sometimes need to manipulate images for clarity, manipulation for
purposes of deception or fraud will be seen as scientific ethical abuse and will be dealt with accordingly.
For graphical images, this journal is applying the following policy: no specific feature within an image
may be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced. Adjustments of brightness, contrast,
or color balance are acceptable if and as long as they do not obscure or eliminate any information
present in the original. Nonlinear adjustments (e.g. changes to gamma settings) must be disclosed
in the figure legend.
Electronic artwork
General points
• Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
• Preferred fonts: Arial (or Helvetica), Times New Roman (or Times), Symbol, Courier.
• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
• Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
• Indicate per figure if it is a single, 1.5 or 2-column fitting image.
• For Word submissions only, you may still provide figures and their captions, and tables within a
single file at the revision stage.
• Please note that individual figure files larger than 10 MB must be provided in separate source files.

A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available.

You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.

AUTHOR INFORMATION PACK 21 Feb 2023 www.elsevier.com/locate/envpol 17

Formats
Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalized, please 'save as' or
convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements for line drawings,
halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):
EPS (or PDF): Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as 'graphics'.
TIFF (or JPG): Color or grayscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF (or JPG): Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF (or JPG): Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale): a minimum of 500 dpi
is required.
Please do not:
• Supply files that are optimized for screen use (e.g., GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low.
• Supply files that are too low in resolution.
• Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.
Color artwork
Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF (or JPEG), EPS (or PDF), or
MS Office files) and with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit
usable color figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear
in color online (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations
are reproduced in color in the printed version. For color reproduction in print, you will receive
information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. Please
indicate your preference for color: in print or online only. Further information on the preparation of
electronic artwork.
Figure captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure
itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but
explain all symbols and abbreviations used.
Tables
Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. Tables can be placed either next to the
relevant text in the article, or on separate page(s) at the end. Number tables consecutively in
accordance with their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body. Be
sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in them do not duplicate results
described elsewhere in the article. Please avoid using vertical rules and shading in table cells.
References
Citation in text
Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice
versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be given in full. Unpublished results and personal
communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. If these
references are included in the reference list they should follow the standard reference style of the
journal and should include a substitution of the publication date with either 'Unpublished results' or
'Personal communication'. Citation of a reference as 'in press' implies that the item has been accepted
for publication.
Reference links
Increased discoverability of research and high quality peer review are ensured by online links to the
sources cited. In order to allow us to create links to abstracting and indexing services, such as Scopus,
Crossref and PubMed, please ensure that data provided in the references are correct. Please note that
incorrect surnames, journal/book titles, publication year and pagination may prevent link creation.
When copying references, please be careful as they may already contain errors. Use of the DOI is
highly encouraged.

A DOI is guaranteed never to change, so you can use it as a permanent link to any electronic article.
An example of a citation using DOI for an article not yet in an issue is: VanDecar J.C., Russo R.M.,
James D.E., Ambeh W.B., Franke M. (2003). Aseismic continuation of the Lesser Antilles slab beneath
northeastern Venezuela. Journal of Geophysical Research, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JB000884.
Please note the format of such citations should be in the same style as all other references in the paper.

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Web references
As a minimum, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed. Any
further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.),
should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a
different heading if desired, or can be included in the reference list.
Data references
This journal encourages you to cite underlying or relevant datasets in your manuscript by citing them
in your text and including a data reference in your Reference List. Data references should include the
following elements: author name(s), dataset title, data repository, version (where available), year,
and global persistent identifier. Add [dataset] immediately before the reference so we can properly
identify it as a data reference. The [dataset] identifier will not appear in your published article.
Preprint references
Where a preprint has subsequently become available as a peer-reviewed publication, the formal
publication should be used as the reference. If there are preprints that are central to your work or that
cover crucial developments in the topic, but are not yet formally published, these may be referenced.
Preprints should be clearly marked as such, for example by including the word preprint, or the name
of the preprint server, as part of the reference. The preprint DOI should also be provided.
References in a special issue
Please ensure that the words 'this issue' are added to any references in the list (and any citations in
the text) to other articles in the same Special Issue.
Reference management software
Most Elsevier journals have their reference template available in many of the most popular reference
management software products. These include all products that support Citation Style Language
styles, such as Mendeley. Using citation plug-ins from these products, authors only need to select
the appropriate journal template when preparing their article, after which citations and bibliographies
will be automatically formatted in the journal's style. If no template is yet available for this journal,
please follow the format of the sample references and citations as shown in this Guide. If you use
reference management software, please ensure that you remove all field codes before submitting
the electronic manuscript. More information on how to remove field codes from different reference
management software.
Reference formatting
There are no strict requirements on reference formatting at submission. References can be in any
style or format as long as the style is consistent. Where applicable, author(s) name(s), journal title/
book title, chapter title/article title, year of publication, volume number/book chapter and the article
number or pagination must be present. Use of DOI is highly encouraged. The reference style used by
the journal will be applied to the accepted article by Elsevier at the proof stage. Note that missing data
will be highlighted at proof stage for the author to correct. If you do wish to format the references
yourself they should be arranged according to the following examples:
Reference style
Text: All citations in the text should refer to:
1. Single author: the author's name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of
publication;
2. Two authors: both authors' names and the year of publication;
3. Three or more authors: first author's name followed by 'et al.' and the year of publication.
Citations may be made directly (or parenthetically). Groups of references can be listed either first
alphabetically, then chronologically, or vice versa.
Examples: 'as demonstrated (Allan, 2000a, 2000b, 1999; Allan and Jones, 1999)…. Or, as
demonstrated (Jones, 1999; Allan, 2000)… Kramer et al. (2010) have recently shown …'
List: References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further sorted chronologically if
necessary. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by
the letters 'a', 'b', 'c', etc., placed after the year of publication.
Examples:
Reference to a journal publication:
Van der Geer, J., Hanraads, J.A.J., Lupton, R.A., 2010. The art of writing a scientific article. J. Sci.
Commun. 163, 51–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.Sc.2010.00372.
Reference to a journal publication with an article number:

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Van der Geer, J., Hanraads, J.A.J., Lupton, R.A., 2018. The art of writing a scientific article. Heliyon.
19, e00205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00205.
Reference to a book:
Strunk Jr., W., White, E.B., 2000. The Elements of Style, fourth ed. Longman, New York.
Reference to a chapter in an edited book:
Mettam, G.R., Adams, L.B., 2009. How to prepare an electronic version of your article, in: Jones, B.S.,
Smith , R.Z. (Eds.), Introduction to the Electronic Age. E-Publishing Inc., New York, pp. 281–304.
Reference to a website:
Cancer Research UK, 1975. Cancer statistics reports for the UK. http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/
aboutcancer/statistics/cancerstatsreport/ (accessed 13 March 2003).
Reference to a dataset:
[dataset] Oguro, M., Imahiro, S., Saito, S., Nakashizuka, T., 2015. Mortality data for Japanese oak
wilt disease and surrounding forest compositions. Mendeley Data, v1. https://doi.org/10.17632/
xwj98nb39r.1.
Reference to software:
Coon, E., Berndt, M., Jan, A., Svyatsky, D., Atchley, A., Kikinzon, E., Harp, D., Manzini, G., Shelef,
E., Lipnikov, K., Garimella, R., Xu, C., Moulton, D., Karra, S., Painter, S., Jafarov, E., & Molins, S.,
2020. Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS) v0.88 (Version 0.88). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/
zenodo.3727209.
Responsibility for the accuracy of bibliographic citations lies entirely with the authors.
Journal abbreviations source
Journal names should be abbreviated according to the List of Title Word Abbreviations.
Video
Elsevier accepts video material and animation sequences to support and enhance your scientific
research. Authors who have video or animation files that they wish to submit with their article are
strongly encouraged to include links to these within the body of the article. This can be done in the
same way as a figure or table by referring to the video or animation content and noting in the body
text where it should be placed. All submitted files should be properly labeled so that they directly
relate to the video file's content. In order to ensure that your video or animation material is directly
usable, please provide the file in one of our recommended file formats with a preferred maximum
size of 150 MB per file, 1 GB in total. Video and animation files supplied will be published online in
the electronic version of your article in Elsevier Web products, including ScienceDirect. Please supply
'stills' with your files: you can choose any frame from the video or animation or make a separate
image. These will be used instead of standard icons and will personalize the link to your video data. For
more detailed instructions please visit our video instruction pages. Note: since video and animation
cannot be embedded in the print version of the journal, please provide text for both the electronic
and the print version for the portions of the article that refer to this content.
Data visualization
Include interactive data visualizations in your publication and let your readers interact and engage
more closely with your research. Follow the instructions here to find out about available data
visualization options and how to include them with your article.
Supplementary material
Supplementary material such as applications, images and sound clips, can be published with your
article to enhance it. Submitted supplementary items are published exactly as they are received (Excel
or PowerPoint files will appear as such online). Please submit your material together with the article
and supply a concise, descriptive caption for each supplementary file. If you wish to make changes to
supplementary material during any stage of the process, please make sure to provide an updated file.
Do not annotate any corrections on a previous version. Please switch off the 'Track Changes' option
in Microsoft Office files as these will appear in the published version.
Research data
This journal requires and enables you to share data that supports your research publication where
appropriate, and enables you to interlink the data with your published articles. Research data
refers to the results of observations or experimentation that validate research findings. To facilitate
reproducibility and data reuse, this journal also encourages you to share your software, code, models,
algorithms, protocols, methods and other useful materials related to the project.

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Below are a number of ways in which you can associate data with your article or make a statement
about the availability of your data when submitting your manuscript. When sharing data in one of
these ways, you are expected to cite the data in your manuscript and reference list. Please refer to the
"References" section for more information about data citation. For more information on depositing,
sharing and using research data and other relevant research materials, visit the research data page.
Data linking
If you have made your research data available in a data repository, you can link your article directly to
the dataset. Elsevier collaborates with a number of repositories to link articles on ScienceDirect with
relevant repositories, giving readers access to underlying data that gives them a better understanding
of the research described.

There are different ways to link your datasets to your article. When available, you can directly link
your dataset to your article by providing the relevant information in the submission system. For more
information, visit the database linking page.

For supported data repositories a repository banner will automatically appear next to your published
article on ScienceDirect.

In addition, you can link to relevant data or entities through identifiers within the text of your
manuscript, using the following format: Database: xxxx (e.g., TAIR: AT1G01020; CCDC: 734053;
PDB: 1XFN).
Research Elements
This journal enables you to publish research objects related to your original research – such as data,
methods, protocols, software and hardware – as an additional paper in Research Elements.

Research Elements is a suite of peer-reviewed, open access journals which make your research objects
findable, accessible and reusable. Articles place research objects into context by providing detailed
descriptions of objects and their application, and linking to the associated original research articles.
Research Elements articles can be prepared by you, or by one of your collaborators.

During submission, you will be alerted to the opportunity to prepare and submit a Research Elements
article.

More information can be found on the Research Elements page.

Data statement
To foster transparency, we require you to state the availability of your data in your submission if
your data is unavailable to access or unsuitable to post. This may also be a requirement of your
funding body or institution. You will have the opportunity to provide a data statement during the
submission process. The statement will appear with your published article on ScienceDirect. For more
information, visit the Data Statement page..

AFTER ACCEPTANCE
Online proof correction
To ensure a fast publication process of the article, we kindly ask authors to provide us with their proof
corrections within two days. Corresponding authors will receive an e-mail with a link to our online
proofing system, allowing annotation and correction of proofs online. The environment is similar to
MS Word: in addition to editing text, you can also comment on figures/tables and answer questions
from the Copy Editor. Web-based proofing provides a faster and less error-prone process by allowing
you to directly type your corrections, eliminating the potential introduction of errors.
If preferred, you can still choose to annotate and upload your edits on the PDF version. All instructions
for proofing will be given in the e-mail we send to authors, including alternative methods to the online
version and PDF.
We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Please use this
proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and
figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this
stage with permission from the Editor. It is important to ensure that all corrections are sent back
to us in one communication. Please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent
corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility.

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Offprints
The corresponding author will, at no cost, receive a customized Share Link providing 50 days free
access to the final published version of the article on ScienceDirect. The Share Link can be used for
sharing the article via any communication channel, including email and social media. For an extra
charge, paper offprints can be ordered via the offprint order form which is sent once the article is
accepted for publication. Corresponding authors who have published their article gold open access
do not receive a Share Link as their final published version of the article is available open access on
ScienceDirect and can be shared through the article DOI link.
Online Publication
Your article will appear on Elsevier's online journal database ScienceDirect as an "Article in Press"
within approximately 4-6 weeks of acceptance. Articles in Press for this journal can be viewed at
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02697491 . An Article in Press may be cited prior to
its publication by means of its unique digital object identifier (DOI) number, which does not change
throughout the publication process.

AUTHOR INQUIRIES
Visit the Elsevier Support Center to find the answers you need. Here you will find everything from
Frequently Asked Questions to ways to get in touch.
You can also check the status of your submitted article or find out when your accepted article will
be published.
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