In recent years, various pollutants considered new have been found in the waters of rivers and seas. The analyzes of the quality of the waters of these rivers have shown how, despite appearing in minute quantities, these pollutants have a very harmful presence. The future of the presence of emerging pollutants in water points to increase, due to the increasingly frequent use of drugs, plastics and other chemical substances from which these pollutants are derived.
In this interesting article by Ecologist Verde we bring you information about one of the current environmental and health problems: emerging pollutants. Keep reading and know the definition of emerging pollutants, examples and how they affect us.
What are emerging pollutants - definition
Emerging pollutants are all those pollutants whose presence in the environment has been recently recognized, due to the existing concern about the consequences that they entail given their polluting effect for the environment and for health. As their name suggests, these pollutants have emerged today, that is, they have been recently detected thanks to the application of new analytical technologies available for study and recognition. Despite having been used continuously and for a long time, until the last 5 or 7 years the effects they can cause both on the environment and on people were not known.
Emerging pollutants are increasingly present in the environment, as a direct consequence of irresponsible activities by human beings, such as poor management of toxic waste and excess consumption of certain chemicals. In the next section we will see some concrete examples of emerging pollutants to better know what it consists of.
Examples of emerging pollutants
In the vast majority of cases, emerging pollutants appear in wastewater, rivers and aquifers, the main sources of emission being agriculture and livestock, as well as poor management of toxic waste. Let's look at the main examples o types of emerging pollutants currently detected:
- Medications in pill form, such as ibuprofen, which when expired are improperly disposed of by toilets and sinks or in normal trash, instead of being taken to clean drug collection points in pharmacies, which is the right thing to do for its good management.
- Pharmaceutical products with cutaneous application, such as creams, ointments and lotions, which deposit remains as they are not completely absorbed by the skin, contaminating surface waters.
- Personal care and hygiene products, such as makeup and some soaps.
- Perfluorinated compounds derived from pesticides, fungicides, plant growth accelerators and other products used in agriculture.
- Nanoparticles of silver, gold and metallic oxides from industrial activities.
- Drugs like cocaine and heroin.
- Endocrine or hormonal disruptors. Learn more about these types of emerging pollutants that affect our hormones with this other post on What are endocrine disruptors.
- Plasticizers and industrial additives.
- Microplastics. If you want to know better about these plastic pollutants, you can consult this other article by Green Ecologist on What are microplastics, their definition and types.
How emerging pollutants affect us
After not being able to be eliminated in the treatment plants in which the treatment of the residual waters to which the emerging pollutants reach is carried out, these tend to accumulate in natural aquatic environments, thus causing negative effects on the well-being and balance of ecosystems and species. that inhabit it.
It is known that affect health in different ways (especially favoring hormonal problems, as in the case of endocrine disruptors) and unbalance ecosystems, destroying habitats, among other problems. However, the environmental information regarding the effects of emerging pollutants on human health, biodiversity and the environment is not yet very extensive to be able to specify the negative effects of these pollutants further. Therefore, it is essential to invest in more studies and research that reveal the specific effects of emerging pollutants, both nationally and internationally.
The possible short-term and long-term effects of the accumulation of emerging pollutants in natural and artificial aquatic ecosystems it is a problem that must be controlled by governments and societies, since the responsibility for managing our waste concerns us all.
If you want to read more articles similar to Emerging pollutants: definition, examples and how they affect us, we recommend that you enter our Pollution category.
Bibliography- Montojo, M. (10/28/2017) Drugs and drugs, some of the "emerging pollutants" in rivers. EFE Magazine: GREEN, Biodiversity, Sustainable Development and Water Quality.
- Drafting team EFEverde (10/28/2014) The University of Alicante is studying how water can purify substances from personal hygiene. EFE Magazine: GREEN, Sustainable Development, Water Pollution.
- EFEverde Drafting Team (21 (07/2018) Some 3,000 drugs reach the environment without knowing their impact. EFE Magazine: GREEN, Environment and Drugs.
- Barceló, D. & Postigo, C. (10/29/2014) Emerging pollutants: description and treatments. Online magazine iAgua Magazine, Volume 4.
