Global trends of research on emerging contaminants in the environment and humans: a literature assimilation

Abstract

Available literature data on five typical groups of emerging contaminants (EMCs), i.e., chlorinated paraffins (CPs), dechlorane plus and related compounds (DPs), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), phthalate esters, and pyrethroids, accumulated between 2003 and 2013 were assimilated. Research efforts were categorized by environmental compartments and countries, so that global trends of research on EMCs and data gaps can be identified. The number of articles on the target EMCs ranged from 126 to 1,379 between 2003 and 2013. The numbers of articles on CPs, DPs, HBCDs, and pyrethroids largely followed the sequence of biota > sediment ≥ air > water ≥ soil > human tissue, whereas the sequence for phthalate esters was water > sediment > soil > human tissue ≥ biota ≥ air. Comprehensive studies on the target EMCs in biological samples and human tissues have been conducted worldwide. However, investigations into the occurrence of the target EMCs in soil of background areas and water are still scarce. Finally, developed and moderately developed countries, such as the USA, China, Canada, Japan, and Germany, were the main contributors to the global research efforts on EMCs, suggesting that economic prosperity may be one of the main factors propelling scientific research on EMCs.

Toxic Chemical Governance Failure in the United States: Key Lessons and Paths Forward

“…The United States serves as an excellent case study on the multifaceted nature of governing toxic chemical risks. It has lagged behind the European Union in adopting the precautionary principle, especially with regards to importing consumer and industrial products (Becker 2010), and in dealing with emerging contaminants (Bao et al 2015). And, as elsewhere, partial solutions have led to unintended outcomes, such as increases in ozone exposure concomitant with declines in particulate pollution due to the widespread adoption of catalytic converter technology (HEI 2019).…”

Re-characterization of mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate hydrolase belonging to the serine hydrolase family

“…These compounds appear in domestic and industrial wastewater because phthalate diesters readily leak from plastic goods, such as tableware, and may be discharged from plastic-producing industrial plants. Phthalate diesters are recalcitrant compounds and accumulate as environmental contaminants (1), and are suspected to be endocrinedisrupting chemicals (2,3). Reports describing developmental toxicity and teratogenic effects of these compounds on animals are increasing (4,5).…”

Determination of emerging contaminants in environmental matrices

“…The most recent findings of ECs in the environment can be attributed to improvements in analytical instrumentation with new and improved equipment and techniques such as gas or liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry allowing to detect and quantify these new compounds at trace levels, opening a broad range of previously undetected pollutants present in different matrices including soil, water, food, tissue, blood and breast milk (Bao et al, 2015;Chefetz et al, 2008;Corcellas et al, 2012;Goldstein et al, 2014;Wingfors et al, 2005). Thus, it was how scientists started to be aware of a new family of contaminants that could be defined as follows:…”

“…This figure has been created summarizing until now the most important groups taken into account by different authors (Albero et al, 2015a;Bao et al, 2015;Eljarrat and Barceló, 2003;Jurado et al, 2012;Tadeo et al, 2012a;Verlicchi et al, 2010). Certainly this figure is not fixed and in next years, as the industry continues to develop new compounds, this list will include new ECs.…”