Idaho Environmental Forum #148
Emerging Contaminants of Concern
Edward T. Furlong , USGS - Denver, will speak on "Pharmaceuticals and Other Emerging Contaminants in Water Resources: Trends and Observations at National and Watershed Scales."
Octavia Conerly, USEPA Office of Water, will speak on “Contaminants of Emergingcern: EPA Office of Water Activities”
Research is documenting with increasing frequency that many chemical and microbial constituents that have not historically been considered as contaminants are present in the environment on a global scale. These "emerging contaminants" are commonly derived from municipal, agricultural, and industrial wastewater sources and pathways. These newly recognized contaminants (which include prescription and non-prescription pharmaceuticals, hormones, and household chemicals) represent a shift in traditional thinking as many are produced industrially yet are dispersed to the environment from domestic, commercial, and industrial uses. Determining whether a regulatory response is needed and how a response would be framed is challenging because the analytical methods are very new; the occurrence, sources, fate, and transport of the contaminants are not well known; and the ecological effects are poorly understood.
For more information go to http://toxics.usgs.gov/regional/emc/.