Leader: Roman Lanno
Background
Emerging contaminants are specifically chemicals that have been detected in water, that may pose risks to humans or ecological receptors, and usually are not regulated under existing environmental guidelines or laws. Sources of these pollutants include agriculture and agricultural practices (e.g., harmful algal blooms), industry, urban runoff, and household products (such as soaps and disinfectants), and pharmaceuticals. “Emerging” does not necessarily mean newly synthesized by industry, but can include legacy contaminants whose environmental concerns are only now becoming evident. An example is per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that were first produced in the 1940s, are very persistent in the environment (i.e., “forever” chemicals), and are usually found at very low concentrations in the environment. Many chemicals are only now “emerging” as technology evolves in analytical chemistry allowing the actual detection of these chemicals in the environment. More broadly, there are other pollutants that are not actually chemicals, but physical contaminants (e.g., environmental plastics) that also pose environmental risks. Finally, there are also pollutants that humans have not yet imagined as such or do not yet exist that need to be considered as “emerging”. Although emerging pollutants are usually thought of in terms of risks posed by consuming contaminated water, consideration must also be given to the contamination of other environmental compartments, such as soil and air, and the connections between environmental compartments and humans and ecological receptors.
Scope
From the perspective of sustainability, the goal of this ERG is to explore the various aspects of emerging pollutants in an interdisciplinary manner. The most logical approach to investigating emerging pollutants would be to take a life-cycle assessment approach. This would involve examining the cradle-to-grave management and assessment of risks for the contaminants, broadly including environmental, regulatory, social, legal, and economic impact, among others. By approaching investigations of emerging pollutants using a life-cycle approach, we hope to appeal to researchers in a variety of disciplines to come together and discuss their perspectives.
Goals
Our immediate goal is to establish a diverse community of researchers working under the broad theme of emerging contaminants. Part of our time at the first couple meetings will be discussing how to further focus the work this group will do moving forward.
For more information or to get involved, contact Roman Lanno: Lanno.1@osu.edu