Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Microplastics, Toxic Chemicals, and Radionuclides: Combined Exposures and Interactions

This Research Topic addresses the growing challenges arising from combined exposure to microplastics, toxic chemicals, and radionuclides, which are underexplored yet increasingly relevant to environmental and human health impacts. These pollutants are now widely detected in air, water, soil, food, and human tissues, resulting in chronic, low-dose exposure through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal pathways. While the health effects of each stressor have been studied independently, their co-occurrence and potential synergistic interactions represent a critical knowledge gap at the interface of environmental health and radiation science.Microplastics (<5" mm" ┤) are not only physical stressors capable of inducing inflammation, oxidative stress, and tissue damage, but also function as carriers that adsorb and transport toxic chemicals and radionuclides. Organic pollutants (e.g., bisphenols, phthalates, PFAS, and persistent organic pollutants) and heavy metals (e.g., lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic) are known to disrupt endocrine, neurological, immune, and reproductive systems. Concurrently, exposure to naturally occurring and anthropogenic radionuclides (e.g., radon, uranium, radium, thorium, radiocesium, strontium, and tritium) contributes additional health risks through ionizing radiation. The interaction of chemical toxicity with radiological exposure may amplify biological damage beyond additive effects, particularly in vulnerable populations.By fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue, this Research Topic aims to advance risk characterization of complex multi-stressor exposures by integrating evidence across environmental monitoring, exposure assessment, toxicology, epidemiology, and radiation science. It seeks to improve understanding of how microplastics may act as carriers that influence the transport, bioavailability, and internal dose of toxic chemicals and radionuclides, and to clarify when combined exposures may produce synergistic effects beyond additivity. The collection also aims to stimulate methodological and data-driven innovation—including modeling, machine learning, and systems-based approaches—to strengthen exposure–outcome prediction and uncertainty-aware inference. Ultimately, it aims to support evidence-based policy and inform strategies to mitigate combined exposures affecting global populations, with attention to vulnerable groups and real-world exposure conditions.This Research Topic invites Original Research, Reviews, and Methods papers spanning environmental monitoring, exposure assessment, toxicology, epidemiology, radiological risk analysis, and computational and data-driven approaches. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:• Combined exposure sources and pathways (ingestion, inhalation, dermal)• Environmental monitoring and impact assessment across air, water, soil, food, and biota• Human exposure assessment, internal dosimetry, and bioaccumulation/biomonitoring• Modeling of chemical–radiological interactions and mixture effects (including non-additive outcomes)• Toxicology and epidemiology of multi-stressor exposures, including susceptible and vulnerable populations• Health risk assessment and radiological risk analysis, including uncertainty characterization• Machine learning and systems-based approaches for exposure–outcome prediction and integration of multi-modal datasets• Implications for regulatory frameworks, cumulative risk governance, and public health interventions Topic editors: Muyiwa Orosun, Clement Ogunkunle, Christian Ebere Enyoh, Maksym Gusyev Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78658/environmental-and-human-health-impacts-of-microplastics-toxic-chemicals-and-radionuclides-combined-exposures-and-interactions