EMERGING CONTAMINANTS

An Concise Overview

A. N. Singh
[email protected]
 Emerging contaminants
 Emerging contaminants can be broadly defined as any synthetic or
naturally occurring chemical or any microorganism that is not
commonly monitored in the environment but has the potential to enter
the environment and cause known or suspected adverse ecological
and(or) human health effects.
 These "emerging contaminants" or "contaminants of emerging
concern" are commonly derived from municipal, agricultural, and
industrial wastewater sources and pathways. These newly recognized
contaminants represent a shift in traditional thinking as many are
produced industrially yet are dispersed to the environment from
domestic, commercial, and industrial uses.
POTENTIAL SOURCE AND PATHWAYS
 TYPES OF EMERGING CONTAMINANTS
PESTICIDES
 Any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing,
destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest.” Examples of pests are
insects, weeds, or microorganisms (bacteria and viruses).
 Alachlor, Dieldrin, and DBCP- Carcinogenic to animals and for this
reason, each classified under the USEPA designation “probable human
carcinogen.”
 Atrazine, Malathion, Methoxychlor- Endocrine disrupting potential
(at very low concentrations).
 Exposures can cause reproductive system damage including sterility,
decreased fertility, and birth defects, as wells as impaired
development, immuno-suppression, and metabolic disorders.
 PHARMACEUTICALS
 Over the last fifteen years, pharmaceuticals have been receiving increasing
attention as potential bioactive chemicals in the environment.
 After their administration, pharmaceuticals can be excreted without being
transformed.
 They can be metabolized by biochemical reactions in two routines:
I. First routines in which oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis, and alkylation
reactions take place; and a
II. Second routines in which glucuronide or sulfate conjugates are formed
and excreted by urine or bile in the form of more polar and hydrophilic
 Hotspots for microbial community- Persistent nature and prevalent at
small concentrations of Antibiotics in water.
 Potentially hazardous- Ecosystem and human health Effect.
 Typical Examples and Associated Effects of pharmaceutical
Suspected
health effects
Class of Typical Where has it
Definition from
CEC Example been detected?
environmental
exposure
Adverse finding-
Hepatocellular
Groundwater,
necrosis (Liver),
Fluoxetine Chemical surface water,
Proximal tubular
(Prozac), substances used in wastewater
Pharma epithelial
Carbamazep the prevention or treatment plant
ceutical necrosis,
ine, treatment of effluent, land
s Hepatomegaly
Diphenhydr physiological applied biosolids,
(kidney),
amine conditions potable water,
Hypotension/hy
recycled water
pertension,
Hypersensitivity

Cont……….
 Life-style compounds

 Caffeine and nicotine- The nicotine metabolite cotinine, are widely

detected in groundwater impacted by sewage effluent.
 Saccharine, Cyclamate and Sucralos -Artificial sweeteners, ,
Detected in in groundwater impacted by sewage infiltration ponds
 Acesulfame - calorie-free sugar substitute (artificial sweetener)- to be
widely detected in the aquatic environment due to its use, mobility and
persistence.
 Sweetener warning: Acesulfame Potassium contains
methylene chloride, a known carcinogen.
 Sweetener warning

 Acesulfame Potassium contains methylene chloride, a known

carcinogen.
 Saccharin - development of bladder cancer.
 Sucralos - Intestinal cramping, Rashes, acne, Headaches,
bloating, chest pain etc.
 Cyclamate -synergistic effect
 Personal care Products
DEET — N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, the most common active
ingredient in insect repellents
parabens — alkyl esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid, used since the
1930s as bacteriostatic and fungistatic agents in drugs, cosmetics, and
foods
bacteriocide and antifungal agents — triclosan is widely used in
household products, such as toothpaste, soap and anti-microbial sprays
polycyclic musks — tonalide and galaxolide are used as fragrances in a
wide range of washing and cleaning agents and personal care Products
UV filters/sunscreen — organic filters include the benzophenones and
methoxycinnamates
 Industrial additives and by-products
 Chlorinated solvents, petroleumhydrocarbons, including the
polyaromatic hydrocarbons and the fuel oxygenate methyl tertiary-
butyl ether, and plasticisers/resins bisphenols, adipates and Phthalates.
 Industrial EGCs may include: benzotriazole derivatives which are
found in pharmaceuticals such as antifungal, antibacterial, and
antihelmintic drugs.
 Benzotriazoles are persistent in the aqueous environment
 Dioxins can be produced as a consequence of degradation of other
micropollutants e.g. from the antimicrobial additive triclosan
 Triethyl citrate is used as a food additive to stabilise foams, e.g. egg
white, and is also used in pharmaceutical coatings and as a plasticiser.
 Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)
are used to prevent fat spoilage in foods.
 Other food additives include camphor, 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol), citral,
citronellal, cis-3-hexenol, heliotropin, hexanoic acid, menthol, phenylethyl
alcohol, triacetin, and terpineol.
 These may be implicated as oxidants or endocrine disruptors
 Water treatment by-products
 Trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids are well established
byproducts of water disinfection.
 N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) as a drinking water contaminant
resulting from reactions occurring during chlorination or via direct
industrial contamination.
 Because of the relatively high concentrations of this the potent
carcinogen formed during wastewater chlorination, the intentional and
unintentional reuse of municipal wastewater.
 Bromo- and iodo-THMs and brominated MX ((3-chloro-4-
dichloromethyl)-5-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone)- potentially toxic by-
products.
 Flame/fire retardants
 Polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants are extensively
used in resins for household and industrial use andmay enter the
environment via waste disposal to landfill and incineration.
 Phosphate-based retardants such as tris-(2-chloroethyl) phosphate
(TRCP) appear to work by forming a non-flammable barrier are used
in industrial and consumer products.
 Bisphenol-A diphenyl phosphate (BADP) and
tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) likely degrade to bisphenol
A (BPA), an endocrine disruptor of concern
 The adverse effects on hepatic mechanism of thyroid hormone
disruption during development have been shown to persist into
adulthood.
 Surfactants

 Ooctyl- and nonyl-phenol (OP and NP) are persist in the aquatic environment
and used in the production of alkyl phenol ethoxylates (APEs) which are used
in the manufacture of surfactants.

 Perfluorinated sulfonates and carboxylic acids including perfluorooctane

sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)-In food packaging
and cookware coatings, paints and cosmetics and fire-fighting foams.

 Siloxanes are used in many personal care products and industrial coatings and
there is a concern about potential toxicity and transport into the environment.

 Sodium Lauryl Sulfate- Endocrine disruptor and skin and Eye irritant

 Surfactant administration may have a great impact on cerebral perfusion.

These effects may result from direct pulmonary or hemodynamic changes (or a
combination of both),
 Hormones and sterols
 Sex hormones include androgens, such as androstenedione and
testosterone, and oestrogens such as oestrone, oestriol, 17α- and 17β-
oestradiol, and progesterone.
 Synthetic androgens such as oxandrolone, nandrolone and more
importantly synthetic oestrogens (xenoestrogens) such as 17α-ethinyl
oestradiol and diethylstilbestrol, used as contraceptives.
 These compounds are commonly present in wastewater and WTW effluent
 Androgens and Anabolic steroids may:
Develop breasts
Get painful erections
Have their testicles shrink
Have decreased sperm count
Become infertile
Become impotent
 Typical Examples and Associated Effects of Hormones and sterols

Class of Typical Where has it Suspected

Definition
CEC Example been detected? health effects

A group of chemical
Dihydrotestos substances, usually
Surface waters,
Reproducti terone (DHT), steroids, whose
potable water, Endocrine
ve Progesterone, purpose is to
recycled water, disruption
hormones Estrone, stimulate certain
wastewater
Estradiol reproductive
functions
A large group of fat- Surface waters,
soluble organic groundwater,
Cholesterol, compounds with a potable water,
Coprostanol, characteristic recycled water, Endocrine
Steroids
Estrone, molecular structure, wastewater, disruption
Progesterone which includes sewage,
many natural and effluent,
synthetic hormones biosolids
 Algal Toxins
 Agricultural runoff and other pollutants of freshwater and marine
wetlands and water bodies have resulted in increased nutrient loading
of phosphorus and nitrogen, thus providing conditions favorable to
the growth of potentially toxic algae.
 Ecological effect-Negatively impact the food web by decreasing the
amount of nutritious, edible phytoplankton that zooplankton and other
primary consumers need to survive.
 Human/Animal effect-The toxins produced during blooms are
possible carcinogens to humans and current research is studying the
link between certain cyanobacterial toxins and neurological disease.
 Emerging Microbial Contaminants
 Emerging Microbial Contaminants is generally used to refer to
microorganisms that have been discovered fairly recently, identified in
a new area or new mode of transmission, and are known to cause
serious human disease.
 little is known about the actual occurrence of specific microbial
pathogens in the environment, or their relation to traditional
microbiological water quality criteria.
 Four hazardous emerging pathogens are listed in EPA’s third
Contaminant Candidate List, in 2009. These are-
 Meningitis - Naegleria fowleri (water-based amoeba that was
identified as a human pathogen as early as 1965).
 Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac Fever- Legionella
pneumophila (waterbased bacteria first identified in 1978).
 Stomach cancer and ulcers- Helicobacter pylori (water-
borne spiral-shaped bacteria discovered in 1982).
 Respiratory infections and gastroenteritis in humans -
Adenovirus (water-borne virus that was first identified during
World War II).
 NANOMATERIALS
 A diverse class of small-scale substances that have structural
components smaller than 100 nanometers (nm) in at least one
dimension. NMs include nanoparticles (NPs), which are particles with
at least two dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nm .
 NMs can be categorized into three types according to their source:
• Natural
• Incidental and
• Engineered
 Research is still being conducted on the effects of NMs on wildlife
species.
 Oxidative stress and pathological changes in aquatic species,
specifically trout, after exposure to nano-TiO2 (-titanium dioxide)
 Potential hepatic effects in rainbow trout after exposure to nanosilver
and potential toxic effects to phytoplankton species after exposure to
some forms of nZV (nanoscale zero-valent iron)
 Silver NMs may release silver ions that can interact with proteins and
inactivate vital enzymes.
 Lead and cadmium NMs used in quantum dots are known
reproductive and developmental toxins.
 Single-walled carbon nanotubes may cause pulmonary
inflammation and fibrosis.
 Nano-TiO2 considered as a potential occupational carcinogen.
 Understudied areas of EC pollution

 Spatial and temporal variability of ECs in wastewater and river water.

• Factors which influence receiving wastewater concentration
• Spatial distribution
• Intra-day variation and Inter-day variability
• Seasonality
• Occasional events
 Partitioning of ECs to solid matter during wastewater treatment
• Influent wastewater and final effluent
• Diagnosis of EC removal during wastewater treatment
• Biosolids and amended soils

Conti……
 Fate of ECs in environmental waters
• Human metabolites
• Microbial transformation
• Physicochemical processes
• Physicochemical mechanisms
 Toxicological impact of ECs within the environment
• Impact of mixtures and chronic impact
• Illicit drugs
• River sediments and amended soils
 Challenges in the management of emerging contaminants

 Identifying emerging contaminants

 Setting appropriate standards

 Reducing inputs

 Improved monitoring