Newswise — Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (ET&C) recently released a Special Edition containing 34 papers reporting the fate and effects of chemicals in the Chinese environment. This special issue is dedicated to documenting the results of environmental research conducted mostly by Chinese scientists residing in China. This entire issue is open access and is available at the ET&C website at http://www.setacjournals.com.

This issue provides an overview of some of the emerging and ongoing environmental concerns precipitated by the explosive growth in the Chinese economy. The articles highlight some of the research that Chinese scientists are gathering to improve and protect the country's ecosystems.

There is a critical need to focus on the environment in China as growth in its economy has led to increased pollution of its rivers, estuaries, air and soil. The Chinese economy has grown approximately 5000% in the past 27 years; however, this growth has led to environmental contamination. For instance, the Xinhua Agency, the Chinese government's official news agency, revealed that 46% of the country's approximately 700 rivers and more than 90% of the country's urban aquatic systems were considered contaminated. The Chinese government has increased spending for research and technology to improve energy efficiency and to protect the environment. Total governmental investment in environmental research and technological improvements has increased approximately 3000% in the past 20 years. This increase in spending has been accompanied by a steady rise in the number of scientific publications by Chinese researchers (approximately 95,000 in 2006).

This open access edition of ET&C contains a diverse compilation of papers on a wide variety of topics that capture the environmental issues in China including contamination with legacy chemicals (e.g., DDT, PCBs, PAHs and metals), emerging chemicals (e.g., antibiotics, perfume ingredients) and the effects of this contamination on fish and shellfish in China.

To read the editorial article from this issue, click here: http://www.allenpress.com/pdf/i1552-8618-27-1-1.pdf

To read the entire issue, please visit the journal website at http://www.setacjournals.org.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry is the monthly journal of the Society of environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). For more information about the society, please visit http://www.setac.org.

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CITATIONS

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (Vol. 27(1), 2008)