What are Emerging Contaminants?

**3**

**Chapter 1**

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

Contaminant

Classification, Potential Routes

*Yahaya Abdulrazaq, Abdulkareem Abdulsalam,* 

*Okpanachi Clifford, O. Abdulazeez Abdulsalam,* 

*O. Nayo Racheal, A. Akor Joy, F. Omale Victor,* 

**Keywords:** emerging pollutants, contaminants, pharmaceuticals,

personal care products cosmetics, disinfectant

*A. Larayetan Rotimi, A. Aliyu Abdulbasit,* 

and Risk of Emerging Pollutants/

*Z. Mbese Johannes, Muhammad Bilal and Salehdeen Umar M*

Emerging contaminants (ECs), encompass both natural and synthetic chemicals that are present or transformed to new chemical compounds in water bodies across the globe. They are presently not checked in the environment but poses a serious health threat to human and ecosystem as well as environmental damage. ECs are released into environment during the anthropogenic activities such as water treatments, fumigation, farming etc. More than 1036 ECs and their biotransformation have been identified by the NORMAN project, established in 2005 by the European Commission. They were further classified into different categorizes/classes including disinfection by-products, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, nanomaterials, benzotriazoles, benzothiazoles among others. The potential sources, path route and their health implication on human were also discussed. The presence of ECs in our environments is global issue that requires urgent attention.

Emerging pollutants (EPs) are natural and synthetic chemicals as well as microbes that are of less concern to the researchers, national and international regulatory bodies [1, 2]. They have not been explicitly studied and there is limited information about their environmental effects, health implications and method of analysis. These pollutants are not new in our environments but they can stay for a longtime in the environment because of their biotransformation, formation of metabolites and by-products [2, 3]. EPs are recently recognized as re-emerging factory-made or naturally formed materials that are detrimental to human health after a long-term exposure and lacking regulatory health standard [4, 5]. They are classified as agricultural (pesticides), industrial and consumer waste products, pharmaceutical and illicit drug as well as personal care products [6–8]. More than 121 various types of unregulated chemicals and microbes are present in an untreated water and at least 25 were found in water

**Chapter 1**
