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Occurrence, bioaccumulation, fate, and risk assessment of emerging pollutants in aquatic environments: A review
Summary
This review summarizes research on five types of emerging pollutants in water, including microplastics, pharmaceuticals, fluorinated chemicals (PFAS), flame retardants, and disinfection byproducts. Wastewater treatment plants are the main source of these pollutants entering waterways, and microplastics along with PFAS and flame retardants can travel long distances and build up in living organisms. While ecological risk was generally assessed as low in most locations, the review highlights gaps in monitoring and the need for better prediction tools to protect water supplies and human health.
Significant concerns on a global scale have been raised in response to the potential adverse impacts of emerging pollutants (EPs) on aquatic creatures. We have carefully reviewed relevant research over the past 10 years. The study focuses on five typical EPs: pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), drinking water disinfection byproducts (DBPs), brominated flame retardants (BFRs), and microplastics (MPs). The presence of EPs in the global aquatic environment is source-dependent, with wastewater treatment plants being the main source of EPs. Multiple studies have consistently shown that the final destination of most EPs in the water environment is sludge and sediment. Simultaneously, a number of EPs, such as PFASs, MPs, and BFRs, have long-term environmental transport potential. Some EPs exhibit notable tendencies towards bioaccumulation and biomagnification, while others pose challenges in terms of their degradation within both biological and abiotic treatment processes. The results showed that, in most cases, the ecological risk of EPs in aquatic environments was low, possibly due to potential dilution and degradation. Future research topics should include adding EPs detection items for the aquatic environment, combining pollution, and updating prediction models.
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