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Following the tradition of the 16th International Conference on Chemistry and the Environment (ICCE) in Oslo, Norway (2017), and the subsequent 17th ICCE in Thessaloniki, Greece (2019), a follow-up session on higher education in environmental science was organized at the 18th ICCE in Venice, Italy (June 2023). The aim of the session was to stimulate the exchange of experiences and knowledge on graduate and post-graduate level educational programmes, including their development, prioritization, and implementation. The session discussed the integration of practical training activities, which included the integration of environmental chemistry in various bachelor's and master's programmes. The aim was to demonstrate the versatility of environmental chemistry as an interdisciplinary scientific discipline that allows the development of essential green skills for developing sustainable strategies for the environmental experts of tomorrow. Furthermore, during the session, a survey was conducted among the conference participants to collect attitudes and reflections from the audience on the education of environmental chemistry (and related fields)., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Farms utilizing sewage sludge and manure in their agronomic plant production are recognized as potential hotspots for environmental release of antibiotics and the resulting promotion of antibiotic resistance. As part of the circular economy, the use of biogas digestates for soil fertilizing is steadily increasing, but their potential contribution to the spreading of pharmaceutical residues is largely unknown. Digestates can be produced from a variety of biowaste resources, including sewage sludge, manure, food waste, and fish ensilage. We developed a method for the detection of 17 antibiotics and 2 steroid hormones and applied the method to detect pharmaceutical residues in digestates from most municipal biogas plants in Norway, covering a variety of feedstocks. The detection frequency and measured levels were overall low for most compounds, except a few incidents which cause concern. Specifically, relatively high levels of amoxicillin, penicillin G, ciprofloxacin, and prednisolone were detected in different digestates. Further, ipronidazole was detected in four digestates, although no commercial pharmaceutical products containing ipronidazole are currently registered in Norway. A simplified risk assessment showed a high risk for soil microorganisms and indicates the tendency for antibiotic-resistant bacteria for penicillin G and amoxicillin. For prednisolone and ipronidazole; however, no toxicity data is available for reliable risk assessments., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

On-site small-scale sanitation is common in rural areas and areas without infrastructure, but the treatment of the collected fecal matter can be inefficient and is seldom directed to resource recovery. The aim of this study was to compare low-technology solutions such as composting and lactic acid fermentation (LAF) followed by vermicomposting in terms of treatment efficiency, potential human and environmental risks, and stabilization of the material for reuse in agriculture. A specific and novel focus of the study was the fate of native pharmaceutical compounds in the fecal matter. Composting, with and without the addition of biochar, was monitored by temperature and CO 2 production and compared with LAF. All treatments were run at three different ambient temperatures (7, 20, and 38°C) and followed by vermicomposting at room temperature. Materials resulting from composting and LAF were analyzed for fecal indicators, physicochemical characteristics, and residues of ten commonly used pharmaceuticals and compared to the initial substrate. Vermicomposting was used as secondary treatment and assessed by enumeration of Escherichia coli, worm density, and physicochemical characteristics. Composting at 38°C induced the highest microbial activity and resulted in better stability of the treated material, higher N content, lower numbers of fecal indicators, and less pharmaceutical compounds as compared to LAF. Even though analysis of pH after LAF suggested incomplete fermentation, E. coli cell numbers were significantly lower in all LAF treatments compared to composting at 7°C, and some of the anionic pharmaceutical compounds were detected in lower concentrations. The addition of approximately 5 vol % biochar to the composting did not yield significant differences in measured parameters. Vermicomposting further stabilized the material, and the treatments previously composted at 7°C and 20°C had the highest worm density. These results suggest that in small-scale decentralized sanitary facilities, the ambient temperatures can significantly influence the treatment and the options for safe reuse of the material., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are today considered important constituents of the continuously growing substance group of persistent contaminants of emerging environmental concern (PCEC). Here, we report for the first time the concentrations of 12 relevant PFASs in 28 marine water samples from the Saudi Arabian coastal waters of the Red Sea. The sum levels of 12 PFASs (Σ 12 PFAS) in surface seawater ranged from -1 . For the reference background site of this study, Σ 12 PFAS levels ranged from

A combination of local (i.e. firefighting training facilities) and remote sources (i.e. long-range transport) is assumed to be responsible for the occurrence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in Svalbard (Norwegian Arctic). However, no systematic elucidation of local PFASs sources has been conducted yet. Therefore, a survey was performed aiming at identifying local PFAS pollution sources on the island of Spitsbergen (Svalbard, Norway). Soil, freshwater (lake, draining rivers), seawater, meltwater run-off, surface snow and coastal sediment samples were collected from Longyearbyen (Norwegian mining town), Ny-Ålesund (research facility) and the Lake Linnévatnet area (background site) during several campaigns (2014-2016) and analysed for 14 individual target PFASs. For background site (Linnévatnet area, sampling during April to June 2015), ΣPFAS levels ranged from 0.4 to 4 ng/L in surface lake water (n = 20). PFAS in meltwater from the contributing glaciers showed similar concentrations (~ 4 ng/L, n = 2). The short-chain perfluorobutanoate (PFBA) was predominant in lake water (60-80% of the ΣPFASs), meltwater (20-30%) and run-off water (40%). Long-range transport is assumed to be the major PFAS source. In Longyearbyen, five water samples (i.e. 2 seawater, 3 run-off) were collected near the local firefighting training site (FFTS) in November 2014 and June 2015, respectively. The highest PFAS levels were found in FFTS meltwater run-off (118 ng/L). Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) was the most abundant compound in the FFTS meltwater run-off (53-58% PFASs). At the research station Ny-Ålesund, seawater (n = 6), soil (n = 9) and freshwater (n = 10) were collected in June 2016. Low ΣPFAS concentrations were determined for seawater (5-6 ng/L), whereas high ΣPFAS concentrations were found in run-off water (113-119 ng/L) and soil (211-800 ng/g dry weight (dw)) collected close to the local FFTS. In addition, high ΣPFAS levels (127 ng/L) were also found in freshwater from lake Solvatnet close to former sewage treatment facility. Overall, at both FFTS-affected sites (soil, water), PFOS was the most abundant compound (60-69% of ΣPFASs). FFTS and landfill locations were identified as major PFAS sources for Svalbard settlements.

A first review on occurrence and distribution of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) is presented. The literature survey conducted here was initiated by the current Assessment of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP). This first review on the occurrence and environmental profile of PPCPs in the Arctic identified the presence of 110 related substances in the Arctic environment based on the reports from scientific publications, national and regional assessments and surveys, as well as academic research studies (i.e., PhD theses). PPCP residues were reported in virtually all environmental compartments from coastal seawater to high trophic level biota. For Arctic environments, domestic and municipal wastes as well as sewage are identified as primary release sources. However, the absence of modern waste water treatment plants (WWTPs), even in larger settlements in the Arctic, is resulting in relatively high release rates for selected PPCPs into the receiving Arctic (mainly) aquatic environment. Pharmaceuticals are designed with specific biochemical functions as a part of an integrated therapeutically procedure. This biochemical effect may cause unwanted environmental toxicological effects on non-target organisms when the compound is released into the environment. In the Arctic environments, pharmaceutical residues are released into low to very low ambient temperatures mainly into aqueous environments. Low biodegradability and, thus, prolonged residence time must be expected for the majority of the pharmaceuticals entering the aquatic system. The environmental toxicological consequence of the continuous PPCP release is, thus, expected to be different in the Arctic compared to the temperate regions of the globe. Exposure risks for Arctic human populations due to consumption of contaminated local fish and invertebrates or through exposure to resistant microbial communities cannot be excluded. However, the scientific results reported and summarized here, published in 23 relevant papers and reports (see Table S1 and following references), must still be considered as indication only. Comprehensive environmental studies on the fate, environmental toxicology, and distribution profiles of pharmaceuticals applied in high volumes and released into the Nordic environment under cold Northern climate conditions should be given high priority by national and international authorities.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can be used as chemical sentinels for the assessment of anthropogenic influences on Arctic environmental change. We present an overview of studies on PCBs in the Arctic and combine these with the findings from ArcRisk-a major European Union-funded project aimed at examining the effects of climate change on the transport of contaminants to and their behaviour of in the Arctic-to provide a case study on the behaviour and impact of PCBs over time in the Arctic. PCBs in the Arctic have shown declining trends in the environment over the last few decades. Atmospheric long-range transport from secondary and primary sources is the major input of PCBs to the Arctic region. Modelling of the atmospheric PCB composition and behaviour showed some increases in environmental concentrations in a warmer Arctic, but the general decline in PCB levels is still the most prominent feature. 'Within-Arctic' processing of PCBs will be affected by climate change-related processes such as changing wet deposition. These in turn will influence biological exposure and uptake of PCBs. The pan-Arctic rivers draining large Arctic/sub-Arctic catchments provide a significant source of PCBs to the Arctic Ocean, although changes in hydrology/sediment transport combined with a changing marine environment remain areas of uncertainty with regard to PCB fate. Indirect effects of climate change on human exposure, such as a changing diet will influence and possibly reduce PCB exposure for indigenous peoples. Body burdens of PCBs have declined since the 1980s and are predicted to decline further.

The photochemical fate of 16 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) found in the environment has been studied under controlled laboratory conditions applying a sunlight simulator. Aqueous samples containing PPCPs at environmentally relevant concentrations were extracted by solid-phase extraction (SPE) after irradiation. The exposed extracts were subsequently analysed by liquid chromatography combined with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) for studying the kinetics of photolytic transformations. Almost all exposed PPCPs appeared to react with a half-life time (τ 1/2 ) of less than 30 min. For ranitidine, sulfamethoxazole, diclofenac, warfarin, sulfamethoxazole and ciprofloxacin, τ 1/2 was found to be even less than 5 min. The structures of major photolysis products were determined using quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (QToF) and spectroscopic data reported in the literature. For diclofenac, the transformation products carbazol-1-yl-acidic acid and 8-chloro-9H-carbazol-1-yl-acetic acid were identified based on the mass/charge ratio of protonated ions and their fragmentation pattern in negative electrospray ionization (ESI - -QTOF). Irradiation of carbamazepine resulted in three known products: acridine, carbamazepine-10,11-epoxide, and 10,11-dihydro-10,11-dihydroxy-carbamazepine, whereas acetaminophen was photolytically transformed to 1-(2-amino-5 hydroxyphenyl) ethenone. These photochemical products were subsequently identified in seawater or fish samples collected at sites exposed to wastewater effluents on the Saudi Arabian coast of the Red Sea.

In this study, contamination levels were determined for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFASs) in traditional Greenland seafood items, such as raw and smoked fish fillet (salmon and halibut), whale and seal meat and narwhal mattak (skin and blubber). The daily intake of PCBs, PBDEs and PFASs through traditional seafood items in Greenland was assessed. Based on the presented levels of contaminants, in combination with earlier food intake studies, suggests that the daily exposure was below the tolerable daily intake threshold for all compounds. BDE-47 was the only PBDE-congener detected in all food items, except in smoked halibut. The levels of BDE-47 varied from < LOD in smoked halibut up to 18 ng/g lw in narwhal mattak and 21 ng/g lw in whale beef. ∑PCB were lowest in smoked halibut (37 ng/g lw) and highest in narwhal mattak with 1,146 ng/g lw. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was the most common of the PFASs. However, ΣPFASs were below detection limits in most fish fillet samples, and varied from 2.9 ng/g ww in whale beef to 13.5 ng/g ww in seal beef. The present study shows that the exclusion from the diet of local food items such as intestines and blubber have a strong positive effect for the reduction of POPs levels in food, without a reducing the health benefits of traditional food intake considerably.