Emerging pollutants in our aquatic ecosystems: invisible enemies

Abstract

This article aims to invite a reflection on our consumption habits and try to answer the following question: are we aware of what we consume and are pouring into the environment? In the world there is a concern due to the increase in pollution in different environments. Pollution is one of the most important environmental problems that affect our reality and is the result of the human-induced introduction of organic and inorganic substances into the environment in such an amount that it can cause negative effects on man, on the Animals or vegetables.

    In this sense, in recent years, some substances called “emerging pollutants (EC)” capable of causing serious alterations on the metabolism of living beings have been investigated. These pollutants appear among the priority research lines of the main agencies dedicated to the protection of public and environmental health, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), or The European Commission Recently the EPA has suggested replacing the term emerging pollutants with pollutants of emerging interest, which defines as chemicals those substances that are not currently included and that have recently been discovered in different environments and identified as potentially harmful to human health and environment.

    Many of the so-called EC can be found in our rivers, seas, lakes, lagoons and in aquatic or terrestrial environments in general at levels that would surprise any reader due to the risk it represents. Many of these pollutants can also be transported over long distances, bioaccumulate and are not biodegradable, they also have a great ubiquity in the environment.