The challenge of emerging groundwater contaminants

A large variety of trace contaminants are starting to be detected in groundwater at potentially environmentally significant concentrations. Such emerging contaminants (ECs) include not only newly developed compounds but also compounds newly discovered in the environment, in some cases due to analytical developments, and compounds that have only recently been categorised as contaminants. ECs include a host of different compounds including; pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), pesticide metabolites/degradation compounds, veterinary products, industrial compounds/by-products, food additives as well as engineered nano-materials.