Artificial rain, a technology primarily used for drought relief, has recently been used for combating regional air pollution. However, there are limited available measurement data to confirm the effectiveness of this control practice. In this study, we summarize control theories and indirect but relevant observations/findings, including air pollutant reduction after natural rain events and roadside sprinkling. A brief review of artificial rain basics is also provided. Our work shows that artificial rain appears to be a promising management strategy for air pollution control. However, field measurements are needed to further assess the cost-effectiveness of the practice, as well as the other benefits or challenges it may create.

Microplastic (MP) contamination has become a global environmental and public health concern due to the extensive use of plastics and ineffective waste management. These microscopic particles are now detected in air, water, soil, and food products, raising serious concerns about their persistence, bioaccumulation, and potential risks. Microplastics (MPs) have been shown to disrupt marine biodiversity, affect plant metabolism, and enter food webs, leading to accumulation in human tissues. Chronic exposure is increasingly linked to reproductive toxicity, carcinogenesis, neurotoxicity, and metabolic disorders. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the sources, pathways, and environmental fate of microplastics, with an emphasis on their ecotoxicological effects and human health implications. It also summarises key analytical methods for detecting microplastics in environmental and food matrices, including spectroscopy, microscopy, and emerging sensor-based technologies. Finally, the review highlights the need for improved waste management, stronger policy interventions, and enhanced public awareness to mitigate microplastic pollution and protect ecosystem and human health.

As livestock production continues to consolidate into fewer but larger operations, odor complaints from neighboring communities have become a major challenge to industry growth, making the establishment of appropriate odor setback distances essential. This paper reiterates the development procedure of odor footprint tools for setback determination based on AERMOD, a regulatory air dispersion model, using North Dakota as an example. Specifically, we developed North Dakota Odor Footprint Tool (NDOFT), an Excel-based calculator designed to estimate odor setback distances between animal production facilities and surrounding communities. The tool utilizes county-specific meteorological data to predict odor concentrations at various distances and directions relative to an established annoyance threshold of 75 OU m⁻³. Setback distances are determined based on the percentage of time during which modeled odor concentrations remain below this threshold, corresponding to annoyance-free frequencies ranging from 91% to 99%. Facility characteristics, including livestock types, source areas, and odor control measures, are incorporated to enable scenario-based assessments. The influence of complex terrain on setback determination was also evaluated, revealing that no simple correction factors adequately capture terrain effects for valleys and hilltops. Overall, the use of county-specific meteorological inputs substantially improves the accuracy of predicted setback distances compared with area-representative approaches, providing an updated and more robust framework for odor setback planning and environmental evaluation. This work is expected to guide future efforts in developing and refining odor setback tools.