Environment & Ecosystem Science (EES)

Advances in global industrialization and urbanisation have resulted in the development of a diverse group of chemical compounds with numerous applications that have a negative impact on the environment and pose human health risks. Air pollution associated with industrial emissions and the continuous discharge of various organic micropollutants (OMPs), without any regulatory measures, may cause environmental risks as well as potential adverse effects on humans even at their low concentrations. Degradation of air quality puts our efforts towards sustainable clean air at risk and impedes the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a number of developing nations worldwide. In recent years, the scientific community has faced the task of understanding the occurrence, fate, and potential ecotoxicological implications associated with OMPs in diverse environmental compartments. The goal of this review paper is to explain OMPs’ origin and occurrences, and adverse consequences on the atmospheric environment and human health. The detection and analysis of these OMPs at trace levels will enables researchers to understand the environmental fate and behaviour of persistent organic contaminants of concern. Therefore, development of novel technologies for effective detection of OMPs at trace levels and appropriate preventive measures need to be adopted. The development of reliable and sensitive techniques will be the first step in the detection and analysis of OMPs in the environment. Furthermore, long-term air quality monitoring is necessary for effective sustainable environmental management of OMPs as well as other related compounds and cost–effective risks mitigation strategies. Sustainable environment therefore require reduction in OMPs emmisions into the atmosphere, adoption of air pollution control policy, and development of effective risks mitigation strategies and by various developing countries.