Instructions for Authors
The Environmental Health and Pollution Research (EPHR) journal publishes articles in English. The review process for submissions follows a blind peer review model to ensure impartial evaluation. To uphold the quality and originality of the work, the journal employs an advanced similarity detection system to assess the similarity rates of submitted articles. Additionally, in alignment with ethical publication standards, the EWE strictly adheres to the guidelines established by the Committee on Ethics in Publication (COPE).
Types of Papers
The EHPR publishes a variety of scholarly content, including Original Papers, Review Papers, short papers, Book Reviews, and Letters to the Editor. These contributions encompass a wide range of topics within the fields of environmental health and pollution research.
Original Research Papers
Environmental Health and Pollution Research welcomes high-quality Original Research Papers that present novel findings, experimental data, or observational studies on all aspects of environmental pollution and its health impacts. Submissions should advance scientific understanding, provide new methodologies, or offer evidence-based solutions to pollution-related challenges.
Key Expectations for Original Papers:
Preferred Topics Include (but are not limited to):
Manuscript Requirements:
Review Paper
Environmental Health and Pollution Research strongly encourages Review Papers that provide authoritative, state-of-the-art syntheses of critical topics at the intersection of environmental pollution and public health. We welcome diverse review formats to serve different stakeholder needs, from academic researchers to policymakers and industry professionals.
Specialized Review Formats Welcome:
Audience-Tailored Priorities:
Enhanced Submission Features:
Why This Matters?
The journal prioritizes reviews that:
✓ Resolve controversies in exposure-health relationships
✓ Identify actionable solutions for pollution hotspots
✓ Accelerate knowledge transfer to practitioners
Early-Career Researcher Note:
We welcome early-career researchers as co-authors when paired with established experts to ensure review quality. Mentorship-focused collaborations are encouraged.
Submission Tip: Authors proposing unconventional review formats are invited to submit a 300-word pre-submission inquiry outlining the review's innovative aspects and target audience.
Short Paper
Environmental Health and Pollution Research invites concise yet impactful Short Papers that present focused research findings, preliminary results, or novel methodological developments in environmental pollution and health sciences. These papers provide a rapid communication channel for timely, high-quality research that merits prompt dissemination.
Key Features of Short Papers:
✔ Focused Scope – Presents a single, well-defined research question or finding with clear significance
✔ Accelerated Publication – Streamlined review process for rapid knowledge sharing
✔ High Impact – Ideal for cutting-edge techniques, urgent environmental health issues, or replication studies
Preferred Content Types:
Manuscript Requirements:
Why Submit a Short Paper?
Special Considerations:
• Submissions must meet the same rigorous standards as full papers
• Particularly welcomes submissions from early-career researchers
Examples of Suitable Topics:
Note to Authors: While concise, Short Papers must demonstrate robust methodology and meaningful conclusions. Submissions that appear to be incomplete full-length papers will be returned.
Book Review
Environmental Health and Pollution Research publishes insightful Book Reviews that critically evaluate recent publications at the intersection of environmental science, pollution management, and public health. We seek reviews that go beyond summary to provide expert analysis of a book's contribution to the field.
Selection Criteria for Reviewed Books:
✔ Relevance: Focus on works published within the last 3 years addressing:
✔ Scope: Preference given to:
Review Requirements:
Special Features We Encourage:
• Side-by-side comparisons of competing texts
• "How to Use This Book" guidance for different reader types
• Digital resource evaluations (if accompanying materials exist)
Submission Notes:
Letter to the Editor
Environmental Health and Pollution Research welcomes Letters to the Editor that foster scholarly dialogue on journal content or current issues in environmental health. These concise contributions keep the scientific conversation timely and dynamic.
Appropriate Content Includes:
✓ Constructive discussion of recently published articles
✓ Brief research notes with preliminary findings
✓ Policy commentaries on urgent environmental health matters
✓ Methodological insights or corrections
✓ Call-to-action pieces from professional societies
Submission Guidelines:
Why Submit a Letter?
Editorial Policy:
• Letters about published articles are sent to original authors for response
• Opinion pieces must declare competing interests
• Research letters undergo expedited peer review
Note: Letters containing new data must meet same ethical standards as full papers.
Submission checklist
To ensure the completeness and accuracy of your submission prior to its final submission to the journal for review, please follow the steps outlined below. For further details, refer to the relevant section in the Guide for Authors provided by the journal. This final check is crucial to adhere to the journal's guidelines and to facilitate a smooth review process.
Files
For the main manuscript, EHPR prefers to receive a single, complete file that includes all figures and tables in Word’s .docx format. Only if the file size of the manuscript causes problems in uploading it, the large figures should be submitted separately from the text. Name your figure files with "Fig." and the figure number. Kindly ensure you provide all relevant editable source files at every submission and revision. Failing to submit a complete set of editable source files will result in your manuscript not being considered for review.
Ensure that the following items are present:
One author has been designated as the corresponding author with contact details: e-mail address and Full postal address.
All necessary files have been uploaded:
Manuscript
Further considerations:
Please do not:
Submission declaration and verification
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract, a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or any other language, including electronically without the written consent of the copyright holder.
Use of inclusive language
Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Content should make no assumptions about the beliefs or commitments of any reader; contain nothing which might imply that one individual is superior to another on the grounds of age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability, or health condition; and use inclusive language throughout. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias, stereotypes, slang, references to dominant culture, and/or cultural assumptions.
Author identification
Authors are encouraged to include their ORCID ID when submitting an article for consideration. If you do not have an ORCID ID, you can easily obtain one during the submission process. To register for an ORCID ID, please visit the following link: Register for ORCID.
Changes to authorship
Authors are expected to consider carefully the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion, or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Editor. To request such a change, the Editor must receive the following from the corresponding author: (a) the reason for the change in the author list and (b) written confirmation (e-mail, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal, or rearrangement. In the case of the addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed.
Only in exceptional circumstances will the Editor consider the addition, deletion, or rearrangement of authors after the manuscript has been accepted. While the Editor considers the request, publication of the manuscript will be suspended. If the manuscript has already been published in an online issue, any requests approved by the Editor will result in a corrigendum.
Submission
Submission to this journal proceeds totally online. Use the following guidelines to prepare your article. Via the homepage of this journal (https://www.ehpr.ir/contacts) you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files.
Referees
You are required to submit, with the manuscript, the names and addresses of three potential referees who can give an independent review. The referees should not be from the same institute/university as the main authors.
Sections
Structure your manuscript into clearly delineated and numerically labeled sections. Subsections should be organized hierarchically using the following numbering system: 1, 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, and so on, followed by 1.2, etc. Note that the abstract should not be included in the section numbering. This numbering system should also be employed for internal cross-references within the text; avoid vague references such as "the text" or "above." Each subsection may include a concise heading, which should be placed on a separate line. Ensure that no more than three levels of headings are used. For any additional sub-points beyond three levels, use italicized text without numbering.
Paper Structure
The manuscript should be organized and compiled in the following sequential order: Title Page, Abstract, Keywords, Main Text (structured as Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion), Acknowledgments, Declaration Statement (as specified in the journal’s guidelines), and References List. Ensure that all sections are clearly defined and presented in the specified sequence to comply with the journal’s formatting requirements. For additional details, please refer to the journal’s author guidelines.
Title Page
The title page of the manuscript should feature key details, including the paper title, author names, author affiliation(s), and the 16-digit ORCID of the author(s). Please ensure that the title page is uploaded separately as part of the article submission process. Additionally, include the contact details, including the email address of the corresponding author.
Essential title page information
1. Introduction
The introduction should clearly articulate the objectives of the study and provide sufficient background information to contextualize the research. Focus on outlining the scope and significance of the work, ensuring that the reader understands the rationale behind the study. Avoid an extensive literature review or a detailed summary of the results. Instead, emphasize the research gap or problem being addressed and briefly explain how the study aims to contribute to the field. This section should be concise yet informative, setting the stage for the subsequent sections of the manuscript.
2. Materials and methods
Provide sufficient details to allow the work to be reproduced by an independent researcher. Methods that are already published should be summarized and indicated by a reference. If quoting directly from a previously published method, use quotation marks and also cite the source. Any modifications to existing methods should also be described.
3. Results and Discussion
The results presented in the manuscript should be clear, concise, and directly relevant to the stated objectives and conclusions. Include only those experimental findings that are pertinent to your study and warrant discussion. The discussion should focus on interpreting the significance of the results rather than reiterating them. It should synthesize the findings into a coherent narrative and situate them within the broader context of existing literature. A combined Results and Discussion section is required, ensuring a seamless integration of data interpretation and contextual analysis. Avoid excessive citations or lengthy discussions of previously published work.
For review articles, the structure may differ, but it is crucial that the review goes beyond a mere summary of the literature. An in-depth, critical analysis of the topic is essential for the manuscript to be considered for acceptance. The review should provide novel insights, highlight gaps in the current knowledge, and offer a forward-looking perspective on the field.
4. Conclusions
The conclusions section is mandatory for this journal. Conclusions contain essentially the 'take-home' message of a paper. Conclusions are not an extension of the discussion or a summary of the results. Authors are advised to list important implications of their work in one paragraph. Conclusions must not contain references to the cited literature.
Highlights
Highlights are mandatory for this journal as they help increase the discoverability of your article via search engines. They consist of a short collection of bullet points that capture the novel results of your research as well as new methods that were used during the study (if any). Highlights should be submitted in a separate editable file in the online submission system. Please use 'Highlights' in the file name and include 3 to 5 bullet points (maximum 85 characters, including spaces, per bullet point).
Abstract
A concise and factual structured abstract (Background and aim, Materials and Methods, Results, and Conclusion) is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results, and the major message. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, References should be avoided. Moreover, abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential, they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself. The unstructured abstract should be within 150-250 words. Meanwhile, along with the Abstract, a high-resolution and good-quality Graphical Abstract is mandatory for the accepted paper.
Keywords
Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of six keywords; avoid general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, "and", "of"). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes. Use keywords that make your paper easily detectable for interested readers in literature databases. Repeating terms in the title is usually not needed.
Abbreviations
Nomenclature must be listed at the beginning of the paper and must conform to the system of standard SI units. Acronyms and abbreviations must be spelled out in full at their first occurrence in the text. In general, minimize the use of abbreviations so the paper remains easily understood by the general reader.
Figure captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Submit each caption directly below each figure. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used. The figure caption should be understandable independent of the text and abbreviations should be avoided.
Tables
Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. Tables can be placed either next to the relevant text in the article, or on separate page(s) at the end. Number tables consecutively by their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in them do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article. Please avoid using vertical rules and shading in table cells. Minimize the use of symbols and abbreviations in the tables (Make sure the total number of figures and tables together is about 10).
References
Citation in text
Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be given in full. Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list but may be mentioned in the text. If these references are included in the reference list, they should follow the standard reference style of the journal and should include a substitution of the publication date with either 'Unpublished results' or 'Personal communication'. The citation of a reference as 'in press' implies that the item has been accepted for publication. Only cite the original papers and those relevant to the work, no need to give a full literature review in the introduction/discussion. A large fraction of self-citations is in general an indication that the authors didn't place their work well in the literature context.
Reference links
Increased discoverability of research and high-quality peer review are ensured by online links to the sources cited. To allow us to create links to abstracting and indexing services, such as Scopus, please ensure that the data provided in the references is correct. Please note that incorrect surnames, journal/book titles, publication year, and pagination may prevent link creation. When copying references, please be careful as they may already contain errors. Use of the hyperlinked DOI is mandatory.
References Style
Cite references in the text by name and year in parentheses. Citations of a reference with one credited author include the author’s surname and the publication year.
Citations of a reference with two credited authors include the surnames of both authors and the publication year. The surnames are separated by “and” in both narrative citations and parenthetical citations.
Citations of a reference with three or more credited authors include the surname of the first author, followed by “et al.” and the publication year
For the researcher who has several reference sources in a year, they will be distinguished from each other by letters a, b, and c in front of the publishing year: (Salehzadeh, 2025a), (Salehzadeh, 2025b).
References list
The reference list must exclusively include works cited in the text that have been published or accepted for publication. Personal communications and unpublished works should only be referenced within the text.
Journal article
Format: Author, A. A., Author, B. B., and Author, C. C. (2025). Title of article. Full Title of Journal, Vol. (Issue), pages. DOI.
Examples:
Moazzami, A. (2025). Improving the mechanical properties of soil and foundations through synthesis of diatomite, mica, and fly ash-based geopolymer. Environent and Water Engineering, 11(1), 15-25. doi: 10.22034/ewe.2024.465189.1946
Parsi Mehr, M., & Solgi, E. (2025). Modeling of the impact of land use patterns on groundwater quality indices (TDS, SAR) in Qazvin plain. Iranian Journal of Health and Environment, 17(4), 775-788.
Pirmoghani, A., Mohammadrezaei, R., & Shahmoradi, B. (2025). Biomass Resource Management and Increasing the Yield of Biogas Production in the Farm: A Review. Journal of Advances in Environmental Health Research, 13(2), 68-89. DOI: 10.34172/jaehr.1388
Authors are encouraged to follow official APA version 7 guidelines on the number of authors included in reference list entries.
Book
Format: For books, the order should be as: Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials, Year of publication of the book (in round brackets), Book title (in italics), Edition (in round brackets), if other than first, Publisher, DOI. Include a DOI for all works that have one, regardless of whether you used the online version or print version.
Example: Jackson, L. M. (2019). The psychology of prejudice: From attitudes to social action (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000168-000
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787
Format: Author, A. A., (year). Title (Publication No. if present) [Doctoral dissertation/Doctoral thesis/Master's dissertation/Master's thesis, Institution Name]. Database Name. URL; Archive Name. URL
Example: Miller, T. (2019). Enhancing readiness: An exploration of the New Zealand Qualified Firefighter Programme [Master's thesis, Auckland University of Technology]. Tuwhera. https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/handle/10292/12338
Conferences paper
Format: Author, A. A. (Date). Title of paper. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title of proceedings (page numbers). Publisher. DOI OR URL if relevant.
Example: Morgan, R., Meldrum, K., Bryan, S., Mathiesen, B., Yakob, N., Esa, N., & Ziden, A. A. (2017). Embedding digital literacies in curricula: Australian and Malaysian experiences. In G. B. Teh & S. C. Choy (Eds.), Empowering 21st century learners through holistic and enterprising learning: Selected papers from Tunku Abdul Rahman University College International Conference 2016 (pp. 11-19). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4241-6_2
Internet Documents
FAO. (2008). Land and plant nutrition management service. Available online at: http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/agll/spush/, Accessed 25, April 2014.
Publication with unknown authors
If no author or creator is provided, start the citation with the title/name of the item you are citing instead. Follow the title/name of the item with the date of publication, and then continue with other citation details.
Note: an author/creator won't necessarily be a person's name. It may be an organization or corporation, for example, Health Canada, or a username on a site such as YouTube.
Anonymous. (2010). Food safety shake-up needed in the USA. The Lancet, 375(9732), 2122. Retrieved from http://www.thelancet.com
Statements & Declarations
Authors are required to incorporate the following statements within their submitted manuscript under the designated heading "Statements and Declarations." This section should be positioned immediately following the References section. Please be advised that any submission lacking the requisite statements will be deemed incomplete and consequently returned to the authors for rectification. To ensure compliance with our submission guidelines and to facilitate a smooth review process, authors must carefully adhere to these requirements. Authors are encouraged to review the specific requirements applicable to their submission to ensure that all pertinent information is adequately addressed.
Acknowledgments
The Acknowledgments section should recognize individuals, institutions, or organizations that contributed to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship. This may include technical assistance, financial support, or other resources provided for the study. Be sure to specify the nature of the contribution and, if applicable, include grant numbers or funding sources. Keep the acknowledgments concise and professional, avoiding overly personal or informal language. Ensure that all acknowledged parties have consented to being mentioned.
Formatting of funding sources
List funding sources in this standard way to facilitate compliance to the funder's requirements:
Funding: This work was supported by the Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences [Grant numbers xxxx, yyyy]; Ministry of Science and Technology, Iran [grant number zzzz]; and the United States Institute of Peace [Grant number aaaa].
It is not necessary to include detailed descriptions of the program or type of grants and awards. When funding is from a block grant or other resources available to a university, college, or other research institution, submit the name of the institute or organization that provided the funding.
If no funding has been provided for the research, it is recommended to include the following sentence:
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Data availability
Authors are obliged to include a data availability statement, clearly indicating whether the data, analysis methods, code, and research materials used in the study will be made accessible to other researchers or readers for the purpose of replicating the results or reproducing the procedure.
Data statement
To foster transparency, you are required to state the availability of any data at submission and include this in your manuscript. Ensuring data is available may be a requirement of your funding body or institution. If your data is unavailable to access or unsuitable to post, you can state the reason why (e.g., your research data includes sensitive or confidential information such as patient data) during the submission process. This statement will appear with your published article on EHPR.
Conflict of interest
Every manuscript submitted to the EHPR journal must be accompanied by a conflict-of-interest disclosure statement. Alternatively, authors can provide a declaration stating that they have no conflicts of interest to disclose. For additional insights into Conflict of Interest guidelines, refer to the APA site.
Author contributions
The EHPR journal requires all authors to take public responsibility for the manuscript's content, ensuring its integrity, accuracy, and adherence to ethical standards. To promote transparency, corresponding authors must detail co-author contributions using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) framework. The CRediT roles include Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, and Writing – review & editing. Not all roles may apply to every manuscript, and authors may have contributed through multiple roles. This approach ensures accountability, recognizes individual efforts, and upholds scholarly credibility. More details and an example.
Sample CRediT author statement
Declaration of competing interest
Corresponding authors, on behalf of all the authors of a submission, must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. All authors, including those without competing interests to declare, should provide the relevant information to the corresponding author (which, where relevant, may specify they have nothing to declare).
Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing
The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the preparation of scientific manuscripts must be transparently disclosed. Authors are required to declare any use of AI-assisted technologies, such as language models or content generation tools, in the writing, editing, or revision of their manuscript. This declaration should specify the extent of AI involvement, including the specific tools used and the tasks for which they were employed (e.g., text generation, language polishing, or data analysis). Importantly, authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the content, ensuring that all AI-generated material is carefully reviewed, validated, and appropriately attributed. Failure to disclose the use of such tools may constitute a breach of ethical standards. For further guidance, refer to the journal’s policies on AI usage in scientific writing.
Statement
During the preparation of this work the author(s) used [NAME TOOL / SERVICE] to [REASON]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication.
This declaration does not apply to the use of basic tools for checking grammar, spelling, references, etc. If there is nothing to disclose, there is no need to add a statement.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism encompasses the copying of text, ideas, images, or data from any source, including one's own publications, without proper attribution to the original source. When reusing text copied from another source, it must be enclosed in quotation marks, and the original source must be cited. Additionally, if previous works have influenced a study's design, manuscript structure, or language, these works must be explicitly cited. All submissions to the EHPR are subjected to plagiarism checks using the industry-standard Turnitin software. The manuscript may be rejected if plagiarism is found during the peer review process. If plagiarism is discovered post-publication, an investigation will be carried out, and necessary actions will be taken as per our policies.
Environmental Health and Pollution Research