In July 2021, I wrote my first editorial for the Journal of Environmental Exposure Assessment (JEEA). The aim then was to provide a much-needed outlet for research findings about human and wildlife exposure to environmental contaminants. Five years on, JEEA has published 138 articles and achieved its first Impact Factor of 2.7. Moreover, its CiteScore has climbed from 2.6 in 2024 to 4.0 in 2025, pointing to a likely similar increase in Impact Factor in 2026. None of this could have been achieved without the effort and support of our Editorial Board Members, reviewers, authors, and readers; and on behalf of the Editorial team, I offer my heartfelt thanks to you all.

Attainment of our first Impact Factor offers an opportunity not only to celebrate what has been achieved but to reflect on what we wish to achieve over the next 5 years and beyond. Our overall aim is to become the leading journal for exposure assessment research. To do this, we will maintain our rigorous peer review system to ensure that we publish only the highest quality manuscripts. Moreover, we are committed to encouraging novel research and invite researchers to propose Special Issues in research areas addressing new developments in exposure science.

This brings me to my own personal views on where exposure science will develop over the next 5 years. Over my 40-year research career, I have seen many developments in exposure assessment, with undoubtedly the most important the dramatic improvements in analytical instrumentation, which allow researchers to generate data that would have been unthinkable four decades ago. However, while such greatly enhanced technology has allowed us to generate ever larger datasets, we now need tools to help us interpret these data; thus, development and validation of such tools (e.g., AI or machine learning) is an important area. Back in the laboratory, while analytical instrumentation allows detection of ever lower quantities of chemicals, this brings very real and substantial challenges in terms of ensuring that the levels detected in, say, a blood sample do not simply arise due to lab contamination, or indeed that the measured levels are accurate. More than ever, we need to ensure the accuracy of our exposure data, which becomes increasingly difficult at low levels and in complex chemical mixtures. Finally, I firmly believe we need more research into how our findings are most effectively communicated to the public. Just because we are exposed to a chemical does not necessarily mean that this is of health concern. Exposure scientists, toxicologists, and epidemiologists need to work with social scientists to more effectively communicate risk.

In summary, JEEA’s first 5 years have been a success; over the next 5 years I look forward to this continuing and JEEA becoming firmly established as a top-quartile journal. I invite you to join us in our efforts to achieve this objective!