Journal profile · Environmental Sciences
WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION
ISSN 0049-6979 · eISSN 1573-2932 · Springer International Publishing · NETHERLANDS · Monthly · Founded 1971
WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION: CAS Zone 4 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.5; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,890; median 158 days to acceptance (195 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 1,297 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION is published by Springer International Publishing and is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Heavy metals in environment, Adsorption and biosorption for pollutant removal and Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics, together about 28.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Water, Air, & Soil Pollution is an international, interdisciplinary journal on all aspects of pollution and solutions to pollution in the biosphere. This includes chemical, physical and biological processes affecting flora, fauna, water, air and soil in relation to environmental pollution. Because of its scope, the subject areas are diverse and include all aspects of pollution sources, transport, deposition, accumulation, acid precipitation, atmospheric pollution, metals, aquatic pollution including marine pollution, Arctic /Antarctic pollution, water, ground water, waste water, micro-plastics, nanoparticles, pesticides, environmental sustainability, soil pollution, industrial pollutants, sewage, sediment pollution, forestry pollution, effects of pollutants on humans, vegetation, fish, aquatic species, micro-organisms, and animals. Submissions are welcome in environmental and molecular toxicology applied to pollution research, biosensors, global and climate change, ecological implications of pollution and pollution models. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution also publishes manuscripts on methods used in the study of environmental pollutants, environmental toxicology, environmental biology and chemistry, bioassays, novel environmental engineering and bioreactors related to pollution, remote sensing, biochar in pollution control, environmental genomics applied to pollution research, biodiversity as influenced by pollution, environmental biotechnology as applied to pollution (e.g., bioremediation, phytoremediation, biofuels), environmental modelling and biorestoration of polluted environments. Articles should not be submitted that are of local interest only and do not advance international knowledge in environmental pollution and solutions to pollution. Articles that simply replicate known knowledge or techniques while researching a local pollution problem will normally be rejected without review. Submitted articles must have up-to-date references, employ the correct experimental replication and statistical analysis, where needed and contain a significant contribution to new knowledge. The publishing and editorial team sincerely appreciate your cooperation. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution publishes research papers; review articles; mini-reviews; and book reviews. Note that special and topical issues published from 2001-2009 were published in the companion journal Water, Air, & Soil Pollution: Focus (see ISSN 1567-7230). Special issues from 2010 forward are published in
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Environmental Sciences
Editor-in-chief Reinhard DallingerPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 20 in mainland China (about 17%); most named Mainland China 20, United States 16, India 10, Italy 8, Canada 7 (118 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Heavy metals in environmentEnvironmental Science14.6%
- Adsorption and biosorption for pollutant removalEnvironmental Science8.1%
- Soil and Water Nutrient DynamicsEnvironmental Science5.6%
- Atmospheric chemistry and aerosolsEarth and Planetary Sciences5.3%
- Mercury impact and mitigation studiesEnvironmental Science4.5%
- Water Quality and Pollution AssessmentEnvironmental Science4.3%
- Toxic Organic Pollutants ImpactEnvironmental Science4.2%
- Environmental Toxicology and EcotoxicologyEnvironmental Science4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Water Resources | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Water Resources | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Environmental Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Water Resources | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexEmbaseCASCAB AbstractsGeoRefCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, AGRICOLA, Astrophysics Data System, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, Semantic Scholar
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.5LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.5Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.73LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.72LetPub ·
- h-index
- 100LetPub ·
- h-index
- 186OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 9,910OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.8OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 11.77%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 1,305LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 1,900,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 17,958 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 995 | 198 | 579 |
| 2025 | 1,297 | 203 | 4,902 |
| 2024 | 851 | 124 | 6,461 |
| 2023 | 813 | 120 | 9,608 |
| 2022 | 548 | 102 | 7,351 |
| 2021 | 532 | 101 | 9,190 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
158 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 110 days – 235 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 9 days (195 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 173 days
- Sample
- 195 articles with submission and acceptance dates (2,453 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 1 monthLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 16 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,890 / EUR 2,890 / GBP 2,490 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Article types accepted18, with length limits
- brief communicationThe journal welcomes a variety of article types: Research Manuscripts Regular research manuscripts contain new research findings in their respective fields. The…Length not stated
- case studyThe journal welcomes a variety of article types: Research Manuscripts Regular research manuscripts contain new research findings in their respective fields. The…Length not stated
- full research paperThe journal welcomes a variety of article types: Research Manuscripts Regular research manuscripts contain new research findings in their respective fields. The…Length not stated
- hypothesisThe journal welcomes a variety of article types: Research Manuscripts Regular research manuscripts contain new research findings in their respective fields. The…Length not stated
- letters to the editorThe journal welcomes a variety of article types: Research Manuscripts Regular research manuscripts contain new research findings in their respective fields. The…Length not stated
- letters to the editor, comments and repliesWithin this section, brief communications to the Editor-in-Chief and to the scientific community will be published. Additionally, any short scientific comment o…Length not stated
- mini-reviewsThese papers follow the same conditions as review articles, but may be shorter in length (up to 8000 words maximum).Length not stated
- original research articleThe journal welcomes a variety of article types: Research Manuscripts Regular research manuscripts contain new research findings in their respective fields. The…Length not stated
- perspectiverature that stimulates future research. Perspectives are about 3,000 words, and contain no more than a total of 1-3 figures and/or tabmain text ≤ 3,000 words · figures and tables ≤ 3
- perspectivesPerspective articles are a blend between a commentary and a mini-review, providing an opinion-driven perspective on a significant research topic.Length not stated
- research articleThe journal welcomes a variety of article types: Research Manuscripts Regular research manuscripts contain new research findings in their respective fields. The…Length not stated
- research manuscriptsRegular research manuscripts contain new research findings in their respective fields. These include presentation of new hypotheses and experiments, concepts or…Length not stated
- reviewThe journal welcomes a variety of article types: Research Manuscripts Regular research manuscripts contain new research findings in their respective fields. The…main text ≤ 8,000 words
- review articleThe journal welcomes a variety of article types: Research Manuscripts Regular research manuscripts contain new research findings in their respective fields. The…Length not stated
- review articlesIn this section, contributions will be published that contain no original new data but summarize existing information and synthesize recent findings. These manu…Length not stated
- short communicationThe journal welcomes a variety of article types: Research Manuscripts Regular research manuscripts contain new research findings in their respective fields. The…main text ≤ 1,000 words · references ≤ 20
- short communicationsResearch that does not meet the criteria for full research papers may be submitted as Short Communications. Short Communications are restricted to reports of un…Length not stated
- topical collectionsThe journal encourages the publication of Topical Collections in emerging and hot topics, relevant to the aims and scope of the journal.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
Data transparency policy Model summary
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
COPE member Model summary
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review type: single-blind (not stated explicitly) Model summary
All submitted papers will undergo a rigorous peer-review.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1971
- ISSN
- 0049-6979
- Electronic ISSN
- 1573-2932
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION
What CAS zone is WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Environmental Sciences / Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences / Water Resources. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.5; CiteScore 5.3, h-index 186.
How long does peer review take at WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION?
Based on the dates recorded on 195 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 158 days (interquartile range 110–235 days); authors report an average review time of about 1 month; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION based?
Of the 118 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 20 (about 17%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (20), United States (16) and India (10). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, Embase, CAS, CAB Abstracts, GeoRef and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION open access, and what is the APC?
WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,890.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .