New Information on Familiar and Unfamiliar Chemicals That Surround Us
Medicines, personal care and household cleaning products, lawn care and agricultural products, and more
Few pharmaceuticals and hormones in groundwater
Groundwater in areas with fractured rocks most vulnerable to contamination
Emerging contaminants, or contaminants of emerging concern, can refer to many different kinds of chemicals, including medicines, personal care or household cleaning products, lawn care and agricultural products, among others. These chemicals make it into our Nation's lakes and rivers and have a detrimental affect on fish and other aquatic species. That have also been shown to bioaccumulate up the food web - putting even non-aquatic species at risk when they eat contaminated fish. The USGS monitors and assesses these dangerous chemicals from their source all the way through the food web.
BACKGROUND
Since the 1990s studies around the country have investigated how a wide range of chemical compounds, industrial pollutants, and human by-products have been making it into our Nation's waterways. Traditionally, most people were not overly concerned about this because the old mantra used to be "dilution is the solution to pollution" However, this is far from true. After the contaminants make it into the rivers and streams, tests show that there are measurable quantities of these contaminants within the water, itself, as well as in the under-water sediments, the nearby aquatic insects, migratory fish that eat the insects, and even predatory wildlife that consume all these different organisms.
“CONTAMINANTS OF EMERGING CONCERN”
Contaminants of emerging concern enter the environment every day. To understand where these chemicals come from, we just need to think about our modern lifestyle. People use chemical-based products each day. These chemicals remain in wastewater and beyond because treatment plants weren't designed to take out these chemicals. Similarly, industrial processes that have their own treatment processes don’t remove all these chemicals, either. Eventually, they end up in the Nation’s lakes and rivers. So these chemicals are getting into the environment and we're concerned about the effects they might be having on organisms, including humans. After all, different contaminants have been detected in drinking water supplies and their risk to our health is still uncertain.
RELATED USGS RESEARCH
USGS studies contaminants and pathogens in nature and provides the science necessary to help protect the health of people and the environment.
- Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Environment
- What's in Our Wastewaters and Where Does it Go?
- Toxic Substances Hydrology Program
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
There are a huge range of water-quality topics related to emerging contaminants. Here are a few select studies that demonstrate USGS capabilities.
Follow the links below to data and web tools on emerging contaminants,
Sometimes the USGS produces videos or puts out other imagery to help explain a science topic. Here are a few examples about emerging contaminants.
Follow the links below to sme of the seminal USGS publications on emerging contaminants.
Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants in U.S. streams, 1999-2000: A national reconnaissance
Here are USGS software products used for emerging contaminant assessments.
Here are a few top stories and news articles highlighting USGS science.
Emerging contaminants, or contaminants of emerging concern, can refer to many different kinds of chemicals, including medicines, personal care or household cleaning products, lawn care and agricultural products, among others. These chemicals make it into our Nation's lakes and rivers and have a detrimental affect on fish and other aquatic species. That have also been shown to bioaccumulate up the food web - putting even non-aquatic species at risk when they eat contaminated fish. The USGS monitors and assesses these dangerous chemicals from their source all the way through the food web.
BACKGROUND
Since the 1990s studies around the country have investigated how a wide range of chemical compounds, industrial pollutants, and human by-products have been making it into our Nation's waterways. Traditionally, most people were not overly concerned about this because the old mantra used to be "dilution is the solution to pollution" However, this is far from true. After the contaminants make it into the rivers and streams, tests show that there are measurable quantities of these contaminants within the water, itself, as well as in the under-water sediments, the nearby aquatic insects, migratory fish that eat the insects, and even predatory wildlife that consume all these different organisms.
“CONTAMINANTS OF EMERGING CONCERN”
Contaminants of emerging concern enter the environment every day. To understand where these chemicals come from, we just need to think about our modern lifestyle. People use chemical-based products each day. These chemicals remain in wastewater and beyond because treatment plants weren't designed to take out these chemicals. Similarly, industrial processes that have their own treatment processes don’t remove all these chemicals, either. Eventually, they end up in the Nation’s lakes and rivers. So these chemicals are getting into the environment and we're concerned about the effects they might be having on organisms, including humans. After all, different contaminants have been detected in drinking water supplies and their risk to our health is still uncertain.
RELATED USGS RESEARCH
USGS studies contaminants and pathogens in nature and provides the science necessary to help protect the health of people and the environment.
- Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Environment
- What's in Our Wastewaters and Where Does it Go?
- Toxic Substances Hydrology Program
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
There are a huge range of water-quality topics related to emerging contaminants. Here are a few select studies that demonstrate USGS capabilities.
Follow the links below to data and web tools on emerging contaminants,
Sometimes the USGS produces videos or puts out other imagery to help explain a science topic. Here are a few examples about emerging contaminants.
Follow the links below to sme of the seminal USGS publications on emerging contaminants.
Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants in U.S. streams, 1999-2000: A national reconnaissance
Here are USGS software products used for emerging contaminant assessments.
Here are a few top stories and news articles highlighting USGS science.