Emerging Contaminants Research and Resources

The following are Research Areas of Interest as they relate to PPCPs in the aquatic environment and are topic of interest for future research projects:

Source characterization
Occurrence, transport, and fate
Toxicology and risk assessment
Human and ecological health
Identifying and ranking compounds of concern
Removal and/or treatment (wastewater and drinking water)
Pollution prevention

Aquatic Ecosystems

While information on the effects of long term low-dosage exposure of ECs and PPCPs on humans is still being collected, the effects on aquatic organisms and ecosystems has been observed, studied, and documented. A significant portion of these studies have focused on hormone disruption in aquatic organisms caused by exposure to trace organic compounds. An increase in the discovery of intersex organisms, i.e. fish having developed male and female reproductive organisms, has led scientists to question the environmental impact of low doses of hormones. The table below, taken from the Nov. 2008 AWWA Journal article “Emerging Compounds: A Concern for Water and Wastewater Utilities,” highlights some of the potential ecological effects of trace compounds found in wastewater effluent.

Class of Compound	Typical Concentration in Effluent	Potential Ecological or Human Health Effects	Examples
Pharmaceuticals	Up to 1 µg/L	Endocrine disrupting	Antibiotics, painkillers, caffeine, birth-control pill, antiepileptics
Personal care products	Up to 1 µg/L	Bioaccumulative, endocrine disrupting	Soaps, fragrances, triclosan
Detergent metabolites	Up to 180 µg/L	Bioaccumulative, endocrine disrupting	Ocylphenol, nonylphenol
Plasticizers	Up to 10 µg/L	Weakly endocrine disrupting	Phthalate esters, bisphenol A
Perfluorooctane surfactants	Up to 1 µg/L	None at environmentally relevant concentrations	Stain-resistant coating for clothing and furnature
Brominated flame retardants	Up to 30 µg/L	Bioaccumulative, suspended endocrine disruptors	Polybrominated diphenyl ethers
Disinfection by-products	Up to 1 µg/L	Carcinogenic	N-nitrosodimethylamine

Research on pharmaceuticals and personal care products explores interactions between chemicals and the environment, the impact of wastewater and drinking water treatment processes on PPCPs, exposure impacts on aquatic biota, landfill leachate concentrations of PPCPs, and much more. National studies of particular interest, or national studies that have taken data from a New England/New York site, are also listed. This list will be maintained and updated to help promote regional research coordination.

Current Research and Databases

NEIWPCC Sponsored Conferences

NEIWPCC’s 2011 Northeast Water Science Forum: Science to Inform Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Product Management, a two-day intensive technical conference, was held April 28 – 29, 2011 in Portland, Maine.

Resources

NEIWPCC Member State Agencies

State Agencies

Federal Agencies

Regional Groups

Organizations

For more information on take-back and mail-in programs:

Go-to-Guide for Safe Drug Take-Back (PSI)

An information source for all parties interested in learning about drug take-back and disposal issues, created in an effort to centralize information and resources on drug take-back issues.

Safe Medicine Disposal for ME Program