Epistemology of contaminants of emerging concern and literature meta-analysis

Abstract

A meta-analysis was conducted to inform the epistemology, or theory of knowledge, of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). The CEC terminology acknowledges the existence of harmful environmental agents whose identities, occurrences, hazards, and effects are not sufficiently understood. Here, data on publishing activity were analyzed for 12 CECs, revealing a common pattern of emergence, suitable for identifying past years of peak concern and forecasting future ones: dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT; 1972, 2008), trichloroacetic acid (TCAA; 1972, 2009), nitrosodimethylamine (1984), methyl tert-butyl ether (2001), trichloroethylene (2005), perchlorate (2006), 1,4-dioxane (2009), prions (2009), triclocarban (2010), triclosan (2012), nanomaterials (by 2016), and microplastics (2022 ± 4). CECs were found to emerge from obscurity to the height of concern in 14.1 ± 3.6 years, and subside to a new baseline level of concern in 14.5 ± 4.5 years. CECs can emerge more than once (e.g., TCAA, DDT) and the multifactorial process of emergence may be driven by inception of novel scientific methods (e.g., ion chromatography, mass spectrometry and nanometrology), scientific paradigm shifts (discovery of infectious proteins), and the development, marketing and mass consumption of novel products (antimicrobial personal care products, microplastics and nanomaterials). Publishing activity and U.S. regulatory actions were correlated for several CECs investigated.

Absolute quantification of norovirus capsid protein in food, water, and soil using synthetic peptides with electrospray and MALDI mass spectrometry

“…The use of heavy-isotope labeled standards is rich with untapped potential for absolute quantitation of viral targets and related threats, such as prions, whose importance as public health threats continues to surge [41]. Using this technique, we have demonstrated detection limits as low as 1 fmol against a background of environmentally relevant sample matrices.…”

Decision support for water quality management of contaminants of emerging concern

“…The tDSS does not dictate whether action should be taken, as mentioned in section 2.1, the role of DSSs are to support people in making decisions, not to make the decision itself. The tDSS supports the decision making by giving access to relevant CEC information, indicating whether current legislation is breached, if adverse effects may occur, and by providing the user with possible mitigation options (Halden, 2015). The request for information on the susceptible functions of the specific water systems and details on short term vs. long term solutions, has not (yet) been fulfilled.…”

“…However water quality legislation, both on a national and international level, are not meant to cover all individual substances authorised on the market (Houtman, 2010). Furthermore there is often a time lag from the time a compound with adverse effect is observed in the environment, to the time that the necessary legislation or policy is implemented (Christensen et al, 2011;Halden, 2015). The time lag is due to complex decision structures and the need for compromises (Halden, 2015;Houtman, 2010).…”

“…Furthermore there is often a time lag from the time a compound with adverse effect is observed in the environment, to the time that the necessary legislation or policy is implemented (Christensen et al, 2011;Halden, 2015). The time lag is due to complex decision structures and the need for compromises (Halden, 2015;Houtman, 2010). This leaves water authorities and drinking water companies with the question if, where and how to abate these substances in the urban water cycle.…”

Toxicity of N-Nitrosodimethylamine and SiO2 nanoparticles to HaCaT and caco-2 cell lines found in waste water treatment

“…Obviously, this will be a problematic because there is no sufficient data explaining the risk of inorganic nanoparticles dispersed in the environment or public sewage treatment plants. N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) is well known for its carcinogenic properties [11,12]. For many years, NDMA was used in pesticide (nematicide), plasticizer for rubber, battery component, antioxidant, lubricant additive, and in polymers [13].…”