Chromium is a potentially toxic metal occurring in water and groundwater as a result of natural and anthropogenic sources. Microbial interaction with mafic and ultramafic rocks together with geogenic processes release Cr (VI) in natural environment by chromite oxidation. Moreover, Cr (VI) pollution is largely related to several Cr (VI) industrial applications in the field of energy production, manufacturing of metals and chemicals, and subsequent waste and wastewater management. Chromium discharge in European Union (EU) waters is subjected to nationwide recommendations, which vary depending on the type of industry and receiving water body. Once in water, chromium mainly occurs in two oxidation states Cr (III) and Cr (VI) and related ion forms depending on pH values, redox potential, and presence of natural reducing agents. Public concerns with chromium are primarily related to hexavalent compounds owing to their toxic effects on humans, animals, plants, and microorganisms. Risks for human health range from skin irritation to DNA damages and cancer development, depending on dose, exposure level, and duration. Remediation strategies commonly used for Cr (VI) removal include physico-chemical and biological methods. This work critically presents their advantages and disadvantages, suggesting a site-specific and accurate evaluation for choosing the best available recovering technology.

Dithiocarbamates (DTCs) are a group of chemicals used primarily as fungicides, although they are exploited for various other applications. DTCs represent one of the oldest classes of broad-spectrum fungicides employed worldwide to control fungal diseases on many crops. Due to their ease of synthesis, low production costs (cheap and readily available starting materials) and a fungicidal activity with a multi-site mode of action, they are still among modern agriculture’s most extensively used pesticides. Although the environmental degradation in air, water, and soil is relatively rapid due to photolysis and/or hydrolysis, they are among the most frequently detected pesticides in the European Union (EU), also with a high frequency of maximum residue level (MRL) exceedances. The current review aims to comprehensively survey all aspects of DTCs, including the environmental fate, toxicity and analytical methods for determining parental compounds and degradation products in environmental and food samples. Furthermore, the accumulation of carbamate and dithiocarbamate pesticides in vegetables, fruits, bioindicator organisms and human biological samples, as well as their health effects on humans, are also considered in this study.

Karst aquifers are essential drinking water sources, representing about 25% of the total available sources globally. Groundwater ecosystems consist of fissured carbonate rocks commonly covered with canopy collapse sinkholes. The open nature of karst aquifers makes them susceptible to rapidly transporting contaminants from the surface in dissolved and particulate forms. The principal aim of this review is to contribute to filling the gap in knowledge regarding major concerns affecting karst aquifers and understanding their vulnerabilities and dynamics. The principal groundwater pollutants of relevance are detailed in the present work, including well-known issues, such as the input of agriculture and its role in water quality. Emerging pollutants such as microplastics, still poorly studied in the groundwater systems, were also considered. Case studies for each typology of pollutant were highlighted, as their relative concerns for karst environments. Final considerations underlined an approach for studying karst environments more focused on understanding dynamics and links among different pollutants inputs and their drivers than on individual sources and impacts.

Nitrogen (N) is a fundamental nutrient for plant growth and for the performance of biological functions. In agroecosystems, nitrogen fertilization is aimed at providing a suitable N dose for crop growth, avoiding the impoverishment or the improper enrichment of nitrogen compounds in soil. The high application of nitrogen fertilizers is the main cause of the increase in nitrate leaching and loss of the quality of natural resources (groundwater and soil). In the last decades, new sustainable technological approaches have been developed and applied on laboratory and field scales to reduce the impacts of nitrogen pollution on the environmental matrices and to improve the sustainability of agricultural management. This review highlights the results of the implementation of sustainable remediation new strategies to reduce pollution from a main agricultural contaminant (nitrate) and describes the benefits obtained from the use of these solutions in agroecosystems.

Nitrogen is a vital nutrient helpful to plants and crop growth. However, among the leading causes of water resources pollution is the excess nitrogen from agricultural sources. In European Union countries, the Nitrates Directive has been approved to reduce this problem monitoring of water bodies with regard to nitrate concentrations, designation of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs), and establishing codes of good agricultural practices and measures to prevent and reduce water pollution from nitrates. In light of this, we propose an integrated methodological approach to better manage a environmental issue as the perimeter of NVZs with the prospective that our approach could be used in the future by other member states representing a Best Practice in that direction. The methodology is based on data integration applied in a GIS environment. Different available data representing the knowledge of the territory were harmonised, systematised and georeferenced, in order to increase the environmental framework, preserve the contamination of the water resource and give indications on the measures to be implemented to apply in the best way possible the Nitrates Directive. Finally, it was also possible to overcome the infringement procedure in progress for Italy and the Puglia region and proceed to new designation of NVZs.