Toxic Futures: Rethinking Emerging POPs in the Age of Exposure

Emerging Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) pose a multifaceted and evolving challenge to environmental and public health worldwide. Unlike legacy POPs, these new contaminants exhibit chemical diversity, pseudo-persistence, complex exposure pathways, and subtle toxicological effects that complicate detection, risk assessment, and regulation. This perspective article highlights critical gaps in environmental epidemiology, emphasizing inadequate biomonitoring, delayed health outcomes, and disparities in exposure affecting vulnerable populations globally. It advocates for harnessing digital chemistry innovations—including AI-driven predictive modeling, high-throughput screening, and real-time sensor technologies—to improve monitoring and risk evaluation. Additionally, it calls for integrated interdisciplinary collaboration and the adoption of precautionary regulatory frameworks to incentivize green chemistry and sustainable alternatives. Centering equity and environmental justice in research and policy is essential to mitigate disproportionate burdens on marginalized communities. This article presents a roadmap for advancing scientific understanding and fostering effective, just, and proactive responses to emerging POPs. source and fate of persistant organic pollutants