EDITORIAL
Update on feature articles Feature articles are probably the most popular aspect of ES&T,-they have been rated above average in readability by our subscribers. Written by invitation and reviewed by peers, features present useful information on a number of pressing environmental topics in a summary form. Starting last year, ES&T published two feature articles monthly and, as a rule, will continue to do so this year. Earlier, the number of pages for feature articles had been reduced because of a lack of advertising income. We are now expanding the number of pages again because of an increase in revenue from subscriptions. The renewal rate last year was the highest in four years; it increased 0.4% to an overall renewal rate of 77.7 % . So we believe the publication has a solid base on which to build. ES&Tcontinuesto publish the best articles we can on a number of environmental topics. In general, our topics involve scientific disciplines for which policy has not yet been made final. We have published articles on airborne toxic chemicals, viruses in drinking water, acid deposition in general and its effect on the forests of Germany and the United States, risk assessment analysis, the status of research on visibility, victim compensation, groundwater, and hazardous waste management. A main concern has been with risk assessment of health effects: Can we determine whether the level of pollutants we are exposed to is injurious to our health? There is a large number of topics and a wide diversity of environmental problems that we still need to explore. Although the scientific issues have been discussed-and the discussion has become more sophisticated-few problems have been settled. An earlier article discussed the status of drinking water legislation, and we ran a recent feature article on the risks posed by trichloroethylene in drinking water. Our features differ from ES&T’s research articles because our requirements are not the same. The research papers must meet a number of criteria, includ0013-936)(/86/0920-0531$01.50/0 0 1986 American Chemical Society
ing originality, completeness of supporting data, documentation of results, and interpretation of the results of original research. We do not require that original data be presented in the features. We are looking for an overview of selected topics, and we are interested in presenting summaries of scientists’ works. Each year ES&T also publishes several critical reviews. These are assessments of selected areas of the environmental science literature that are published for the purpose of identifying research needs. For example, the article on viruses in drinking water was published as a critical review. It showed that although viruses have been found in samples of treated drinking water from many countries, more work needs to be done before standards are set. As we announced in an editorial last year, ES&T plans to introduce a couple of integrated feature articles on air and water topics this year (ES&T, July 1985, p. 563). Acid deposition will be addressed in the first series, and we are always interested in finding new topics from new authors. The mechanical requirements for features, which average six printed pages in the magazine, are as follows: We publish manuscripts of about 12 pages of doublespaced copy. In addition, authors usually supply no more than five other items, such as tables, figures, and photographs. More detailed information is available by writing to ES&T, American Chemical Society, 1155 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, or by calling 202-872-458 1.
Environ. Sci. Technol., Vol. 20, No. 6, 1986 531
