Bio: Professor Jiang Guibin graduated from Shandong University in January 1982 and received his master's and doctoral degrees from the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1987 and 1991. From 1989 to 1991 and 1994 to 1996, he was a visiting scholar and postdoctoral researcher at the National Research Council of Canada and the University of Antwerp, Belgium, respectively. Jiang’s research is mainly focused on analytical development, environmental fate, toxicology and health effects of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), endocrine disruptors, organometallic compounds, nanomaterials and new pollutants. He has contributed more than 1300 papers in peer-reviewed international scientific journals with 70,000 times of citations (web of science) and published 26 monographs. He is now a founding editor-in-chief of the ACS journal Environment & Health (E&H).

Abstract: The governance of new pollutants has become the primary policy for environmental protection in China. New pollutant is an emerging scientific term, in analogy to contaminants of emerging concern, which refers to any synthetic or naturally occurring chemical or micro-organism that can cause significant known, or suspected toxic effects and health hazards when deposited in the environment. At present, the new pollutant analogues of extensive concern include persistent organic pollutants, endocrine disruptor compounds, and antibiotics. In general, the rapid growth in the use of synthetic chemicals is the underlying cause of the new pollutant issue. A significant number of chemical substances that are environmentally persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic are becoming a potential threat to the ecosystem and public health. International scientific research on New Pollutants has been developing rapidly in the 2000s, and it is well recognized that the rapid development of analytical instrumentation and analytical techniques has been an intrinsic driving force. As quoted from a presentative review article (Science, 2020, 367, 388): “Along with the increased use of chemicals in commerce and the advances in analytical methodology, rising attention is being paid to a variety of chemicals that have not been detected and are thereby not regulated”. It is also linked with the research on traditional environment pollutants, uniting the efforts of Chinese scholars for decades. For instance, the studies on screening and control for environmental endocrine disruptors were funded by the National 863 Program since 1999. A prospective exploration of the pollution characteristics, interfacial behavior, and health effects of emerging pollutants (i.e., PBDEs, PFAS and SCCP) has been realized with the financial support of the National 973 Program during 2003-2018. Basic research is a systemic endeavor that could be a key underpinning of the New Pollutants governance initiative. Many topics of this international toxicology conference, such as analytical toxicology, computational toxicology, biochemical and molecular toxicology, epigenetic toxicology, drug and food safety and risk assessment, as well as alternative approaches in toxicology, are elements that should be focused on for support in basic science research on New Pollutants. Along with the development of new approach methodologies such as machine learning and big data analytics, high-throughput toxicology testing, quantitative structure-property relationship modeling, and stem cell research will play a critical role. Future challenges also lie in a number of areas, for instance, the identification of key toxicants from complex matrices, the scientific assessment of the effects and mechanisms of combined exposures, the population exposure levels and safety thresholds for new pollutants, and the causal links between environmental exposures and ecological/health risks.