Excerpt: “Emerging contaminants, also called CECs, are newly identified or reemerging manufactured or naturally occurring physical, chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear materials that may cause adverse effects to human health or the environment and do not currently have a national primary [drinking water cycles (DW)] regulation. Major sources of CECs include everyday consumer products (e.g., disinfecting products, plastics, pharmaceuticals, personal care products), industrial manufacturing processes (e.g., solvents), and agricultural practices (e.g., antibiotics and pesticides). These substances and the chemicals that result from their transformation (e.g., degradation) by biotic and abiotic processes can be released into the environment and into the DW cycle. Research has shown that DW CECs may cause direct or indirect adverse effects in humans, animals, and the environment. For example, exposure to agricultural pesticides can result in both short-term effects such as eye and skin irritation and long-term effects such as liver damage or adverse reproductive system effects. As an example of indirect effects, the accumulation of pharmaceuticals in the environment and DW systems has influenced the evolution of bacterial strains that cause infectious diseases and are resistant to current antibiotics.” (footnotes removed)
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