Industrial emerging chemicals in the environment

Abstract

Recently, considerable interest has grown concerning the presence of the emerging industrial chemicals, EmIC. They are contaminants that are dominantly released by industrial and anthropogenic activities, but enter environment. EmIC are widely used as industrial chemicals (new and recently recognized), global organic contaminants (flame retardant chemicals), pharmaceuticals (for both human and animal use), endocrine-modulating compounds, biological metabolites, personal care products, household chemicals, nanomaterials (energy storage products, lubricants), anticorrosive and agricultural chemicals and others that are applied to a variety of everyday items such as clothing, upholstery, electronics and automobile interiors. NORMAN (Network of reference laboratories for monitoring of emerging environmental pollutants) has established an open, dynamic list of emerging substances and pollutants. EmIC have been recently detected in the environment due to their long-term presence, pseudo-persistence and increased use. Improvements in sophisticated analytical methods and time integrative passive sampling have enabled the identification and quantification of EmIC, in very low concentrations (ppb, ppt and lower), which likely have been present in all environmental mediums for decades. Passive technology is an innovative technique for the time-integrated measurement of emerging contaminants in water, sediment, soil and air. Passive samplers are simple handling, costeffective tool that could be used in environmental monitoring programs. These devices are now being considered as a part of an emerging strategy for monitoring various industrial chemicals and priority pollutants in the aquatic environment. EmIC are substances that are not included in the routine monitoring programes and whose fate, behavior and (eco)toxicological effects are still not well understood. Emerging pollutants have no regulatory standards based on peer-reviewed science. EmIC might jeopardize aquatic environment. The first screening analyses of emerging industrial and priority organic contaminants in the Danube surface water, in the vicinity of Novi Sad, have been done and approximately more than 140 compounds have been registered. The new sampling campaign, screening and target analyses are in progress.