# Topics and Trends in Most Cited Heavy metals in environment Papers, Class of 2026

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## What topics and trends defined most-cited Heavy metals in environment research in the Class of 2026?

Environmental heavy metal research in the Class of 2026 shifted decisively toward quantitative risk metrics and stochastic modeling. Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk quadrupled, supported by expanding multivariate source apportionment and Monte Carlo simulations, while general descriptive assessments and traditional phytoremediation studies saw notable declines.

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Field | Heavy metals in environment |
| Cohort label | Class of 2026 (2024 publications) |
| Papers analyzed | 10,203 |
| Papers ranked | 20 |
| Top topics in ranked papers | Carcinogenic risk, non-carcinogenic risk, hazard quotient, source apportionment, soil contamination |
| Publication window | Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024 |
| Eligibility | Research articles; reviews excluded |
| Citation window | 18 months post-publication |
| 18m citation range | 62–150 |
| Data source | OpenAlex · Retrieved Jul 2026 |
| License | CC BY 4.0 |

## Rankings

| Rank | Title | Authors | Corresponding authors | Affiliation | Journal | 18m citations | DOI |
| ---: | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- |
| 1 | Heavy metals pollution from smelting activities: A threat to soil and groundwater | Muhammad Adnan, Baohua Xiao, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Peiwen Xiao, Peng Zhao, Haiyan Wang, Shaheen Bibi | Baohua Xiao | Chinese Academy of Sciences, China | Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety | 150 | 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.116189 |
| 2 | Pollution analysis of metals in the sediments of lagoon lakes in Türkiye: Toxicological risk assessment and source insights | Bayram Yüksel, Fikret Ustaoğlu | Fikret Ustaoğlu | Giresun University, Turkey | Process Safety and Environmental Protection | 118 | 10.1016/j.psep.2024.11.085 |
| 3 | Combined pollution of soil by heavy metals, microplastics, and pesticides: Mechanisms and anthropogenic drivers | Shumin Fang, Chunyu Hua, Jiaying Yang, Feifei Liu, Lei Wang, Dongyue Wu, Lijun Ren | Lijun Ren | Shandong University, China | Journal of Hazardous Materials | 103 | 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136812 |
| 4 | Appraisal of metallic accumulation in the surface sediment of a fish breeding dam in Türkiye: A stochastical approach to ecotoxicological risk assessment | Bayram Yüksel, Fikret Ustaoğlu, Handan Aydın, Cem Tokatlı, Halim Topaldemir, Md Saiful Islam, Said Muhammad | Fikret Ustaoğlu | Giresun University, Turkey | Marine Pollution Bulletin | 101 | 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116488 |
| 5 | Metal pollution assessment in the surface sediments of a river system in Türkiye: Integrating toxicological risk assessment and source identification | Fikret Ustaoğlu, Bayram Yüksel, Yalçın Tepe, Handan Aydın, Halim Topaldemir | Bayram Yüksel | Giresun University, Turkey | Marine Pollution Bulletin | 93 | 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116514 |
| 6 | Escalating arsenic contamination throughout Chinese soils | Shuyou Zhang, Jiangjiang Zhang, Lili Niu, Qiang Chen, Qing Zhou, Nan Xiao, Jun Man, Jianqing Ma, Changlong Wei, Songhe Zhang, Yongming Luo, Yijun Yao | Yijun Yao | Hohai University, China | Nature Sustainability | 92 | 10.1038/s41893-024-01341-7 |
| 7 | Toxicological risk assessment using spring water quality indices in plateaus of Giresun Province/Türkiye: a holistic hydrogeochemical data analysis | Selin Karadeniz, Fikret Ustaoğlu, Handan Aydın, Bayram Yüksel | Bayram Yüksel | Giresun University, Turkey | Environmental Geochemistry and Health | 91 | 10.1007/s10653-024-02054-8 |
| 8 | Enhancing soil health to minimize cadmium accumulation in agro-products: the role of microorganisms, organic matter, and nutrients | Junliang Xin | Junliang Xin | Hunan Institute of Technology, China | Environmental Pollution | 87 | 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123890 |
| 9 | Ecological and health risk assessments of heavy metal contamination in soils surrounding a coal power plant | Ekaterina Kravchenko, Tatiana Minkina, Saglara Mandzhieva, Tatiana Bauer, Elizaveta Lacynnik, Ming Hung Wong, Olga Nazarenko | Ming Hung Wong | Southern Federal University, Russia | Journal of Hazardous Materials | 83 | 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136751 |
| 10 | Exploring the impact of heavy metals toxicity in the aquatic ecosystem | Munit Sharma, Rajni Kant, Amit Kumar Sharma, Amit Kumar Sharma | Amit Kumar Sharma, Amit Kumar Sharma | Central University of Himachal Pradesh, India | International Journal of Energy and Water Resources | 81 | 10.1007/s42108-024-00284-1 |
| 11 | Foliar Application of Nanoparticles Reduced Cadmium Content in Wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.) Grains via Long-Distance “Leaf–Root–Microorganism” Regulation | Min Wang, Chunyi Mu, Xinying Lin, Wenyan Ma, Haotian Wu, Dunfeng Si, Chenghao Ge, Cheng Cheng, Lijuan Zhao, Hongbo Li, Dongmei Zhou | Dongmei Zhou | Nanjing University, China | Environmental Science & Technology | 79 | 10.1021/acs.est.3c10506 |
| 12 | Biochar-based adsorption for heavy metal removal in water: a sustainable and cost-effective approach | Jalal Bayar, Nawab Ali, Younsuk Dong, Uzair Ahmad, Muhammad Mehran Anjum, Gul Roz Khan, Muhammad Zaib, Arshad Jalal, Rovaid Ali, Liaqat Ali | Nawab Ali | The University of Agriculture, Pakistan | Environmental Geochemistry and Health | 74 | 10.1007/s10653-024-02214-w |
| 13 | Spatiotemporal variations, source identification, and risk assessment of potentially toxic elements in the surface water of Felent Stream impacted by the silver mine | Cem Tokatlı, Fikret Ustaoğlu, Said Muhammad, Bayram Yüksel | Said Muhammad | Trakya University, Turkey | Environmental Monitoring and Assessment | 73 | 10.1007/s10661-024-13013-2 |
| 14 | Investigation of groundwater quality in the Southern Coast of the Black Sea: application of computational health risk assessment in Giresun, Türkiye | Mehmet Metin Yazman, Bayram Yüksel, Fikret Ustaoğlu, Nilgün Şen, Yalçın Tepe, Cem Tokatlı | Bayram Yüksel | Giresun University, Turkey | Environmental Science and Pollution Research | 70 | 10.1007/s11356-024-34712-w |
| 15 | RETRACTED: Trace element pollution tracking in the complex multi-aquifer groundwater system of Al-Hassa oasis (Saudi Arabia) using spatial, chemometric and index-based techniques | S I Abba, Mohamed A Yassin, Syed Muzzamil Hussain Shah, Johnbosco C Egbueri, Hussam Eldin Elzain, Johnson C Agbasi, Gaurav Saini, Jamilu Usaman, Nadeem A Khan, Isam H Aljundi | Sani I. Abba | King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia | Environmental Research | 69 | 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118320 |
| 16 | Silicon and iron nanoparticles protect rice against lead (Pb) stress by improving oxidative tolerance and minimizing Pb uptake | Fozia Ghouri, Samreen Sarwar, Lixia Sun, Muhammad Riaz, Fasih Ullah Haider, Humera Ashraf, Mingyu Lai, Muhammad Imran, Jingwen Liu, Shafaqat Ali, Xiangdong Liu, Muhammad Qasim Shahid | Shafaqat Ali, Xiangdong Liu, Muhammad Qasim Shahid | South China Agricultural University, China | Scientific Reports | 67 | 10.1038/s41598-024-55810-2 |
| 17 | Soil pollution indices and health risk assessment of metal(loid)s in the agricultural soil of pistachio orchards | Mahmoud Taghavi, Khadije Bakhshi, Ahmad Zarei, Edris Hoseinzadeh, Abdolmajid Gholizadeh | Ahmad Zarei | Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Iran | Scientific Reports | 67 | 10.1038/s41598-024-59450-4 |
| 18 | Smooth Vetch (<i>Vicia villosa</i> var.) Coupled with Ball-Milled Composite Mineral Derived from Shell Powder and Phosphate Rock for Remediation of Cadmium-Polluted Farmland: Insights into Synergetic Mechanisms | Jianhua Qu, Yuhui Li, Fuxuan Bi, Xiaoyang Liu, Zonghao Dong, H Fan, Mei Yin, Libo Fu, Weidong Cao, Ying Zhang | Ying Zhang | Northeast Agricultural University, China | ACS ES&T Engineering | 65 | 10.1021/acsestengg.4c00177 |
| 19 | Unveiling the nutritional value and potentially toxic elements in fish species from Miliç Wetland, Türkiye: A probabilistic human health risk assessment using Monte Carlo simulation | Bayram Yüksel, Fikret Ustaoğlu, Halim Topaldemir, Mehmet Metin Yazman, Cem Tokatlı | Fikret Ustaoğlu | Giresun University, Turkey | Marine Pollution Bulletin | 65 | 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117417 |
| 20 | Assessment of drinking water quality and identifying pollution sources in a chromite mining region | Amin Mohammadpour, Ehsan Gharehchahi, Majid Amiri Gharaghani, Ebrahim Shahsavani, Mohammad Golaki, Ronny Berndtsson, Amin Mousavi Khaneghah, Hasan Hashemi, Soroush Abolfathi | Amin Mohammadpour, Hasan Hashemi, Soroush Abolfathi | Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Iran | Journal of Hazardous Materials | 62 | 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136050 |

## Topic trends

### What Topics Define the Class of 2026?

Research in the Class of 2026 is heavily anchored in quantitative human health risk assessment and source identification of heavy metal contamination in environmental matrices. Quantitative risk metrics dominate the literature, led by carcinogenic risk and non-carcinogenic risk (each present in 24% of top papers), alongside the hazard quotient (18%) and hazard index (16%). These indices reflect a systematic effort to translate environmental chemical concentrations into actionable public health warnings. Soil contamination (16%) and surface water or sediment pollution serve as the primary media of concern, with particular emphasis on agricultural lands where toxic elements threaten food safety. Geochemical and statistical methodologies are central to identifying contamination origins: source apportionment (18%), principal component analysis (14%), and spatial distribution mapping (14%) are routinely combined with positive matrix factorization to isolate anthropogenic sources—such as industrial discharges, mining, and agricultural inputs—from natural geogenic baselines. Elemental research focuses primarily on highly toxic species including cadmium, chromium, arsenic, and lead, alongside evaluations of bioaccumulation, bioavailability, and phytoremediation strategies. Together, these themes demonstrate a shift from simple elemental monitoring toward integrated, spatial-statistical risk modeling to safeguard ecosystem and human health.

*Leading research themes*

### How Did Topics Shift from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026?

Comparing the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026 reveals a pronounced evolution toward probabilistic modeling and specific toxicological metrics. Quantitative risk endpoints experienced the most dramatic surge: carcinogenic risk and non-carcinogenic risk both quadrupled from a normalized frequency of 0.06 in 2025 to 0.24 in 2026 (4.0-fold increase). Concurrently, hazard index (0.08 to 0.16) and hazard quotient (0.10 to 0.18) expanded significantly. Advanced statistical and stochastic tools gained strong momentum, highlighted by principal component analysis (3.5-fold increase to 0.14), Monte Carlo simulation (2.0-fold increase to 0.12), and the emergence of probabilistic risk assessment (0.08). Emphasis on anthropogenic source tracking also grew markedly (2.33-fold increase to 0.14). In contrast, broad descriptive terminology saw a noticeable decline. General human health risk assessment fell by 45% (0.22 to 0.12) as researchers adopted more granular health indices. Conventional remediation and index-based studies also moderated, with phytoremediation declining from 0.16 to 0.10 (down 37.5%) and enrichment factor dropping to 0.06. These trends demonstrate a clear discipline-wide transition from descriptive spatial surveys and general remediation toward high-resolution, probabilistic risk forecasting and multivariate source apportionment.

*How topics shifted year over year*

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Heavy metals in environment Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/heavy-metals-in-environment/2026. Accessed 2026-07-29.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
```