Impactful knowledge generation and utilisation, aiming at addressing environmental and sustainability challenges, requires meaningful interaction between scientists, stakeholders, policymakers and society. This study identifies key success factors and challenges at the science-policy-practice interaction, drawing on document analysis, interviews, and workshops involving experts, policymakers, and funders of environmental and sustainability research and innovation across 14 European countries. Experiences from current practices highlight the highly variable contexts for interaction and communication throughout Europe, a diverse range of tools and approaches, and differing levels of available resources. Siloed structures and the need to engage various societal sectors and levels of governance remain significant challenges. The development and employment of expertise in communication, interaction and knowledge co-creation, capable to orchestrate this variability, is essential. Greater recognition of the diverse dimensions of inclusive participation is proposed to ensure that environmental and sustainability research and innovation, aimed at societal transformation, leaves no one behind. © 2026 Lyytimäki J et al.
The world is entering a digital era that changes everyday business practices and lifestyles. Digital technologies are said to support sustainable development and create untapped potentials in many areas, for instance, by reducing energy and resource consumption. However, social and ecological drawbacks have become much more apparent where digitalisation has not lived up to its ascribed potentials. Over the past years, voices have become louder advocating for a green and digital twin transition. Similarly, the European Commission has supported the twin transition by setting it as a priority in line with the European Green Deal. This report presents project findings on how to support the twin transition through a concept of digital sufficiency. A premise of sufficiency as a guiding principle for the digital transformation is that technological innovation alone cannot solve societal problems. Unsustainable practices and behaviours must be either reduced or replaced by sustainable alternatives. The aim of this report is to support the German government’s position in EU debates and to formulate recommendations for priorities for action, which the government can link to the activities of the European Commission. This is done by drawing on an analysis of the role of the German Council Presidency in supporting the twin transition in Europe, both an online survey and an expert workshop on digital sufficiency as well as a literature analysis to deepen some of the expert discussions. Our analyses find that although digital sufficiency has potentials to bring new perspectives into existing debates, work on the concept is still in its infancy. Future work needs to frame the concept and link it to existing policy debates to make it relevant for policy. This report provides the first building block towards carrying out this work and outlines policy recommendations towards supporting the twin transition through digital sufficiency.
The occurrences of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water may pose health risks to exposed consumers. PFAS removal with two anion exchange resins and a divinylbenzene sorbent in column experiments operated in parallel was investigated over a period of 520 days. For all adsorbents, removals of short-chain (C3 to C6 perfluorinated carbon atoms) PFAS were significantly lower than those of long-chain (C7 to C10 perfluorinated carbon atoms) PFAS. The strong base resin removed the short-chain PFAS slightly better than the weak base resin. Sulfonates were removed better than carboxylates with the same number of fluorinated carbon atoms. Anion exchange resins exhibited a greater affinity for the aromatic fraction of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), resulting in a higher removal of UV-absorbing components than total DOC. The strong base resin outperformed the weak base resin and the divinylbenzene sorbent in terms of removing DOC concentrations and reducing UV254 absorbance. The reductions in UV254 and the elimination of short-chain PFAS exhibited correlations (Pearson's r > 0.60), indicating that UV254 abatement may be a possible surrogate parameter for short-chain PFAS elimination. Correlations (Pearson's r > −0.60) between the removals of nitrate and PFAS were observed. © 2026 The Authors
The occurrence of 3,5-di‑tert‑butyl‑4-hydroxystyrene (S.I) diffusing from cross-linked polyethylene (PE-X) pipes has been a topic of debate among industries, regulatory authorities, and scientists due to inconsistent findings. This study aimed to clarify the origin of S.I in migration waters and provide analytical recommendations for the certification process of pipe materials. First, it was demonstrated that analysing migration waters by liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS), according to EN 15,768 with an injector temperature of 250 °C, significantly biases the measured S.I concentrations, which are due to thermal degradation of 7,9-di‑tert‑butyl‑1-oxaspiro[4,5]deca-6,9-diene-2,8‑dione (S.II). Under these conditions, artificially high concentrations of S.I are obtained. Reducing the injector temperature to 150 °C improves S.I. accuracy, however, a reliable solid-phase microextraction (SPME) method was developed to quantify S.I. independently of S.II. Second, four types of PE-X pipes were evaluated using LLE with injector temperatures of 250 °C and 150 °C, as well as SPME. LLE significantly increases the likelihood of detecting S.I concentrations in the migration waters well above the 0.1 µg/L limit stipulated by the European Commission Implementing Decision. Although the fraction of S.I formed from S.II is small (0.7–2% with LLE), the concentration of S.II itself can reach up to 100 µg/L (legal limit), leading to substantially biased S.I values that exceed 0.1 µg/L. Consequently, materials could fail European certification despite being compliant, which would have significant commercial implications. Therefore, the use of SPME is recommended as an alternative method for analysing S.I in this context. © 2026 The Authors.
Viruses pose risks to human health and might be of special concern in filter backwash water recycling, yet there are no published studies on the subject. The fate of the bacteriophages MS2 and ΦX174 during biological filtration was studied at pilot scale. Furthermore, the efficacy of phage removal in ultrafiltration of filter backwash water was investigated for four different ultrafiltration (UF) membranes at laboratory scale. During biotic iron and manganese removal from groundwater (2.1–2.7 mg/L Fedis and 0.4–0.7 mg/L Mndis), both phages were removed by less than one log10 unit at filtration velocities of 7.5 m/h and 15.0 m/h. Treatment of filter backwash water (3.9–7.9 mg/L Fetotal) with a polyether sulfone flat-sheet UF membrane (pore size 26 nm) yielded a removal of MS2 phages of 4 log10 units and of ΦX174 of approx. 3 log10 units. Using different UF membranes revealed no clear relation between pore size and phage retention, with phage retention reaching up to 7 log10 units with pore sizes larger than phage diameters. © 2025 The Author(s)
The One Health concept strongly brings into focus the important connections for human and ecosystem health. However, the incorporation of behavior method guidelines in risk assessment and regulation/policy is not equal between human and ecological disciplines. A survey was conducted on the perceptions and role of behavioral (eco)toxicology in the protection of human and ecosystem health. Those surveyed include scientists working in the field of environmental toxicology and behavioral ecology, representing industry, government, nongovernment organizations, and academia/research centers. The respondents (N = 166) agreed that contaminants “can impact” and “are impacting” wildlife (97% and 77%) and humans (84% and 62%, respectively). Overall respondents believed behavioral experiments to be repeatable (60%), reliable (61%), and relevant (84%), although those not studying behavior (43%) were more cautious in their answers. Respondents were more likely to be neutral when asked whether behavioral endpoints are more sensitive (43%), but they agreed (80%) that behavioral endpoints provide important alternative information to standard endpoints. The largest group disagreed (42%) with the statement that behavioral endpoints are currently used in risk assessment but agreed that they were essential (55%). The majority of respondents disagreed (63%) that we understood the risks of contaminants to human and ecosystem health, but they agreed (68%) that regulatory authorities should consider behavioral endpoints. When answers were compared among sectors (academia, government, or industry), industry scientists were more likely to be negative or neutral in their responses to the application of behavioral toxicology. We discuss how these data could be used to support our understanding of and confidence in the effects of contaminants on human and ecosystem health. © The Author(s) 2025.
Comprehensive human biomonitoring (HBM) data with regard to the exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Europe is lacking. This prompted us to quantify 18 mercapturic acids as urinary VOC metabolites in 360 samples from the Environmental Specimen Bank collected between 2000 and 2021 in Germany. Our study demonstrates the ubiquitous exposure to numerous VOCs of high toxicological relevance, albeit with a decreasing trend over time for most of the metabolites. This emphasizes the need for a broader HBM to better understand the risk of VOC exposure in Germany and more general in Europe. ©The Author(s) 2026
Climate-driven challenges probably increase disinfection in drinking water systems. Interactions between disinfectants and infrastructure materials remain understudied. This study quantifies the consumption of chlorine, the release of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and the formation of regulated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) from 20 common materials: polymeric pipes, seals, fittings, epoxy resins, and cement mortar. The materials were pulverized to maximize the surface area and create a worst-case scenario. The results were compared with standardized migration tests. Chlorine depletion (>90%) was observed in the waters exposed to epoxy resins, seals, and cement. The formation of DBP, especially trichloromethane (TCM), exceeded 100 μg/L in samples of epoxy resins, cement, vulcanized fiber, and polyamide; TCM was detected in polyethylene pipe materials at concentrations between 5 and 18 μg/L. Increased temperatures enhanced DOC leaching and THM formation. Relations between DOC and DBP concentrations indicate material leachates as precursors. The results highlight the importance of material selection and testing for disinfected drinking water systems, providing critical insights for risk assessment, material certification, and regulatory development. ©2026 The Authors
Ozonation is an established advanced treatment process to transform organic micropollutants present in wastewater treatment plant effluents. In the presence of bromide, ozone treatment can cause formation of the oxidation byproduct bromate. Due to its potential carcinogenicity, its concentration in drinking water is regulated and limited to 10 μg/L in the European Union. Understanding relevant influences on bromate formation and potential control options is crucial to ensuring surface water quality and safe drinking water in case of semi-closed water cycles. This study investigates the bromate formation potential for four wastewater treatment plant effluents of the largest German city Berlin. Laboratory-scale ozonation experiments were conducted with varying ozone doses and bromide concentrations to determine bromate formation for different conditions that might occur during real operation. The results show native bromide concentrations of 0.14 to 0.32 mg/L and bromate concentrations of 0.3 to 1.3 μg/L for ozone consumptions around 0.7 mg/mg O3/DOC at pH values between 7 and 8. This corresponds to bromate yields of 0.2 to 0.6% (mg/mg bromate/bromide). Splitting the ozone dose into multiple smaller doses proved to be an efficient bromate control option for high specific ozone consumptions, with up to 48% less bromate formation. The results underline that the bromate formation potential in Berlin wastewater treatment plants does not limit ozonation as advanced wastewater treatment, since bromate concentrations of all plants were significantly below the drinking water limit of 10 μg/L for specific ozone consumptions around 0.7 mg/mg O3/DOC, even at artificially elevated bromide concentrations. © 2026 The Authors.
In the European Union, regulated products such as plant protection products (PPPs) must undergo prospective environmental risk assessment (ERA) and obtain regulatory approval before use. ERA evaluates the potential adverse effects regulated products may pose to the environment, aiming to ensure that their use does not result in unacceptable effects. Despite ongoing improvements accumulated empirical evidence shows that current chemical ERA practices fall short of ensuring sufficient environmental protection, highlighting the need for better alignment with real-world ecological and agricultural conditions. Advancing ERA requires not only integrating a more realistic understanding of environmental contexts, but also fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and engaging stakeholders through knowledge-sharing platforms and partnerships. Within this context, the Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) is exploring new avenues to transform PPP ERA through six key actions: (1) clarifying regulatory needs to ensure regulatory relevance and facilitate regulatory uptake of project outcomes; (2) benchmarking ERA against real-world data for calibration and explore ways to simplify ERA processes; (3) improving ERA comparability to enable cross-substance comparison and ranking; (4) increasing ecological realism to deliver more realistic, context-dependent ERA predictions along with effective risk mitigation and sustainable use measures; (5) updating and modernising ERA approaches to reduce uncertainty, unnecessary complexity, and animal testing; and (6) fostering the transition toward a systems-based approach by interconnecting stakeholders and integrating data, knowledge and expertise across regulatory frameworks. In doing so, PARC aims to advance PPP ERA toward a holistic, systems-based ERA framework that supports the progressive phase-out of animal testing. Together, these efforts emphasise the urgent need for an interdisciplinary ERA platform that integrates scientific knowledge across domains, enhances biodiversity protection against chemical stressors, and drives the transition toward systems-based ERA for PPPs. © 2025 The Author(s).
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