1. Emerging Contaminants (ECs)

Environmental Fate and Risk Assessment of ECs in Aquatic Systems

• Investigating the occurrence, transformation, and persistence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and organophosphate esters (OPEs) in rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and coastal waters.
• Evaluating the ecotoxicological risks of these contaminants to aquatic organisms and human health.
• Developing predictive models to assess their transport and deposition in sediment and water columns.
• Linking dust-to-water inputs: quantifying the contribution of atmospheric deposition and dust wash-off (e.g., road/urban dust runoff) as an important pathway delivering PFASs/OPEs into aquatic systems.

Distribution and Transformation of ECs in Soil Matrices

• Characterizing the interactions of PFASs and OPEs with soil organic matter and microbial communities.
• Examining biodegradation pathways and the formation of transformation products under varying redox and pH conditions.
• Assessing the potential for soil-to-plant transfer and subsequent human exposure risks.
• Dust–soil coupling: assessing how dust deposition (urban/industrial/road dust) alters contaminant loading, partitioning, and bioavailability in surface soils, including the role of fine particles and black carbon.

Atmospheric Dynamics and Health Implications of ECs

• Investigating emission sources, transport pathways, and deposition mechanisms of PFASs and OPEs in urban and industrial air.
• Measuring atmospheric concentrations and determining the role of particulate matter in the long-range transport of these contaminants.
• Evaluating the toxicological and public health implications of inhalation and other exposure routes.
• Air–dust partitioning: clarifying how gas/particle partitioning and settling/resuspension processes control the transfer of PFASs/OPEs between airborne PM and settled dust.

Dust Reservoirs and Exposure Pathways of ECs

• Characterizing the occurrence and profiles of PFASs and OPEs in indoor dust (homes, offices, laboratories, schools) and outdoor dust (road dust, construction dust, industrial settled dust).
• Source apportionment of dust-borne ECs (e.g., consumer products/materials, industrial emissions, traffic-related sources, building materials).
• Investigating sorption/desorption behavior and transformation potential of PFASs/OPEs in dust under realistic conditions (e.g., sunlight/UV, ozone/oxidants, humidity, temperature, organic carbon content).
• Assessing human exposure via dust ingestion (hand-to-mouth), inhalation of resuspended dust, and dermal contact, with emphasis on sensitive populations (children, occupational settings).
• Evaluating dust as a secondary emission reservoir, i.e., contaminants stored in dust that can re-enter air (resuspension) or water (runoff).

2. Microplastics

Occurrence and Fate of Microplastics in Aquatic Environments

• Monitoring the distribution and concentration of microplastics in rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs).
• Investigating the influence of environmental factors (e.g., temperature, UV radiation, water flow) on microplastic degradation and fragmentation.
• Assessing the role of biofilms and microbial communities in altering microplastic behavior and transport.
• Dust-to-water linkage: quantifying the role of urban/road dust and atmospheric deposition as upstream sources of microplastics to aquatic systems, especially during rainfall-driven runoff.

Fate, Deposition, and Transport of Airborne Microplastics

• Characterizing the sources of microplastics in urban and industrial atmospheres.
• Examining deposition dynamics, including wet and dry deposition, to understand accumulation in different ecosystems (soil, water bodies).
• Evaluating the potential health and ecological risks associated with inhalation and surface contamination.
• Explicit connection to dust: treating settled dust as the integrated sink of airborne microplastics and a key medium for resuspension-driven inhalation exposure.

Occurrence, Accumulation, and Resuspension of Microplastics in Dust 

• Quantifying and characterizing microplastics in indoor settled dust, HVAC/filter dust, road dust, and construction/industrial dust (polymer type, size distribution, fiber/fragment morphology).
• Identifying major contributors (e.g., textile fibers, carpet abrasion, packaging, tire/brake wear particles as a component of road dust).
• Investigating resuspension dynamics (human activity, ventilation, humidity) and indoor–outdoor exchange to determine exposure-relevant concentrations.
• Evaluating inhalation and ingestion risks associated with dust-borne microplastics, including co-occurrence with additives and co-contaminants.

Impact of Aging/Weathering Processes on Microplastics

• Investigating the physical and chemical changes in microplastics under natural and artificial aging/weathering scenarios (e.g., UV exposure, abrasion).
• Studying the sorption behavior of weathered microplastics toward PFASs, OPEs, and other emerging contaminants.
• Exploring the implications of altered surface chemistry for microplastic toxicity and pollutant transport.
• Dust-specific aging: incorporating abrasion-driven aging common in dust environments (e.g., road dust grinding, indoor mechanical wear), and assessing how this accelerates fragmentation and changes surface reactivity.

Interactions of Microplastics with Soil Systems

• Determining the pathways and mechanisms by which microplastics enter and accumulate in soil environments.
• Analyzing how soil conditions (e.g., moisture content, pH, organic matter) affect microplastic mobility and degradation.
• Evaluating potential impacts on soil fertility, plant growth, and terrestrial food webs.
• Dust–soil interface: assessing how deposition of microplastics-laden dust contributes to topsoil loading and redistribution via wind erosion and agricultural activities.

3. Cross-Cutting Themes

Analytical Method Development

• Refining sampling, extraction, and quantification techniques for low-level detection of ECs and microplastics in complex matrices (air, water, soil, sediment, and dust).
• Developing standardized and comparable protocols for dust (e.g., indoor vacuum dust, wipe sampling, passive dustfall collectors, road dust sieved fractions), including QA/QC and contamination control.
• Utilizing advanced instrumentation (GC-MS/MS, LC-MS/MS, SEM, TEM, FTIR, XPS, and Raman) to enhance accuracy and sensitivity in contaminant analysis.
• Expanding capability for dust microplastics analysis (e.g., micro-FTIR/Raman mapping; thermal methods such as pyrolysis-based approaches when appropriate) and addressing mineral-rich dust matrix interferences.

Data Analytics and Risk Assessment

• Employing statistical tools and data mining to interpret large datasets on contaminant distributions, transformations, and exposures.
• Integrating toxicity data with environmental concentration profiles to inform risk-based management strategies.
• Multimedia integration (air–dust–soil–water): building or applying multimedia fate/exposure models that explicitly treat dust as (1) a sink, (2) a secondary source via resuspension/runoff, and (3) a direct human exposure medium.
• Developing combined exposure frameworks for co-occurrence of ECs and microplastics in dust (co-exposure / mixture risk considerations).

Sustainability and Engineering Solutions

• Designing and testing remediation technologies (e.g., advanced oxidation, adsorption) to reduce EC and microplastic loads in water, soil, and air.
• Exploring eco-friendly materials and processes to minimize contaminant production and release at the source.
• Dust-oriented control strategies: evaluating interventions such as improved filtration/ventilation, indoor material substitution, dust suppression and street sweeping optimization, and industrial dust capture to reduce human exposure and downstream environmental loading.