Fate of Emerging Water Pollutants

Abstract

Emerging pollutants reflect a major global water quality problem. When these compounds enter the environment, they cause significant environmental threats to aquatic and human health. Emerging water pollutants (EWPs) include new materials with no regulatory status butthey can adversely affect the environment and human health. Emerging water contaminants can be biological or synthetic that remain unregulated, and pose a potential threat. Major classes of such pollutants are pharmaceuticals, agro-chemicals, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), industrial wastes, livestock wastes, synthetic nanomaterials, and petroleum products. These pollutants can enter the environment through numerous sources and pose severe threats to soil organisms, agriculture, aquatic life, and humans. Pharmaceutical waste, industrial effluents, cosmetic and cleansing products, household sanitation, discharge, and synthetic NPs enter water channels, agro-ecosystem, underground water (via seepage), etc., posing a serious threat. These EWPs have different unknown and known effects on animals, plants, and human health, which must be viewed positively. This chapter summarizes the sources and classification of EWPs, their entry into the environment, and their fate. A major focus will be on the end sink of pollutants with potential threats and risk evaluation for plants and human health.