Microplastics, antibiotics and PFOA and PFOS are some of the new compounds being studied for their potential environmental impact.
The great challenge in the environmental sector today is to be constantly learning, since regulations, production techniques, the development of new materials and even contaminants can change constantly. Faced with this scenario, it is necessary to have the knowledge of a multidisciplinary group of professionals who generate ideas to solve each project.
Among the novelties we are facing, emerging contaminants stand out. There is no standardized definition for them, but we could say that they are those chemicals of natural or synthetic origin, microorganisms and materials that are potentially pollutants but are not routinely monitored and, therefore, there is no standardized or revised data available on their impact on human health and ecosystems, as well as those chemicals and materials for which standards and legislation are evolving according to new contributions from science.
In some cases, the release of emerging chemicals into the environment may have occurred over a long period of time, but has not been recognized until new detection methods have been developed. In other cases, the synthesis of new chemicals or changes in disposal methods may have created new sources of emerging contaminants.
The origin of these contaminants is multiple, as is their presence in the subsoil and their degree of coverage of the different aquifers. Contributions to aquifers can come from water treatment plants that receive residential wastewater together with wastewater from sanitary establishments, from residential areas with leaking septic tanks, from discharges caused by agricultural and livestock activities, sanitary landfills, facilities associated with aviation that use large quantities of fire extinguishing substances or flame retardants, etc.
Currently, chemical compounds of diverse nature are considered emerging contaminants; among them, microplastics, antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals and PFOA and PFOS stand out for their interest. Their study is a challenge for the scientific and environmental communities and requires the joint work of all of them in order to define the mixtures of compounds to be analyzed, to know their toxicological properties individually or in a complex mixture, to have laboratories that demonstrate robustness in their detection, as well as regulatory bodies applying harmonized criteria, etc.
From the environmental consulting field, interaction with the different areas that will participate in the studies that include emerging contaminants should be maximized. It will be essential to achieve a transversal consensus in their regulation, analysis and remediation.
