Publication Fees (APC) and Waivers

Pollution & Diseases is published as a fully open access journal in which all accepted articles are made freely available to read, download, and share immediately upon publication.

Article Processing Charges (APC)

To support the peer review, editorial management, professional production, DOI registration, indexing preparation, and long-term archiving of scholarly articles, the journal applies an Article Processing Charge (APC). APCs help cover the costs involved in the publication process, from managing peer review to hosting the final article online for perpetual access. 

The APC amount is clearly published on this page and in the journal’s author guidelines. The charge becomes payable only after a manuscript has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication; there is no fee for submission or peer review itself.

Waiver and Discount Policy

We recognise that researchers in different regions and institutions have varying access to funding. Accordingly, Pollution & Diseases offers waivers and discretionary discounts on APCs in cases of financial need.

Automatic Waivers:
Authors with primary affiliation in countries classified as low-income or lower-middle-income economies by recognised international standards (e.g., World Bank / Research4Life lists) may be eligible for a full or partial APC waiver. Eligibility criteria are based on corresponding authors’ institutional country status and are applied transparently at the point of submission. 

Discretionary Waivers:
In addition to automatic waivers, authors who are unable to pay the APC for reasons of demonstrated financial hardship may request a discretionary waiver. Such requests should be made at the time of manuscript submission and will be reviewed by the journal’s editorial team. Eligibility for a waiver or discount does not influence editorial or peer-review decisions. 

How to Request a Waiver

  1. During manuscript submission, indicate your interest in a waiver or APC reduction in the submission system.
  2. If eligible under automatic waiver criteria (for example, corresponding author based in an eligible low-income country), you will be notified as part of the submission process.
  3. If you require a discretionary waiver due to financial hardship, provide supporting information where requested by the journal office.

Payment Options

APC payments may be made by:

  • The corresponding author
  • The author’s institution or research funder
  • Other third-party arrangements

Detailed instructions for invoicing and payment will be sent after acceptance of the manuscript.

Refunds

Once APCs have been paid, refunds will only be issued in clearly defined circumstances (e.g., if the journal withdraws the publication for legal or ethical reasons prior to publication). Refunds are not available after the article has been published.