An indispensable asset at risk: merits and needs of chemicals-related environmental sciences.
BACKGROUND
Modern societies depend on environmental sustainability and on new generations of individuals well-trained by environmental research and teaching institutions. In the past, significant contributions to the identification, assessment, and management of chemical stressors with legal consequences have been made.


METHODS
Within this article, we intend to elucidate the merits and the emerging challenges of chemicals-related environmental sciences. The manuscript is supported by more than 70 professors and university academics of leading institutions in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and other countries in Europe, but addresses topics of global concern.


CONCLUSIONS
Many environmental problems of pollutants remain to be addresses, since new chemical compounds or classes of new compounds are continuously developed and brought to the market and sooner or later "emerge" in the environment. Further issues are the inclusion of transformation products and chemical mixtures in environmental risk assessment, the long-term presence of xenobiotics bound to soils and sediments, as well as an understanding of the ecological relevance of ecotoxicological end points.


CONCLUSIONS
We point out the need for a strong academic research and education system in chemicals-related environmental sciences to ministries, politicians, and research funding institutions and we propose to create specific units in the national funding bodies that address basic and interdisciplinary research in this field.
Schaeffer
Andreas
A
Institute for Environmental Research (Biology V), RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany. andreas.schaeffer@bio5.rwth-aachen.de
Hollert
Henner
H
Ratte
Hans Toni
HT
Ross-Nickoll
Martina
M
Filser
Juliane
J
Matthies
Michael
M
Oehlmann
Joerg
J
Scheringer
Martin
M
Schulz
Ralf
R
Seitz
Alfred
A
D004463:Ecology / Q000379:methods*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry*; D007221:Industry; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends*
D004785:Environmental Pollutants