An Emerging Contaminant is a chemical or material that has pathways to enter the environment and present potential unacceptable human health or environmental risks and either (1) do not have regulatory peer-reviewed human health standards or (2) the regulatory standards are evolving due to new science, detection capabilities, or pathways. Some emerging contaminants have never been regulated by any state or the federal government; some may have been regulated, but the regulations are changing due to new analytical methods that detect the chemical or compound at increasingly lower levels.
Emerging Contaminants also may be new substances, chemicals or metabolites, or microorganisms.
Some Emerging Contaminants are older chemicals with:
- newly expanded distribution or altered releases,
- newly found in the environment and not commonly monitored, and/or
- newly recognized or exhibit poorly characterized/documented effects.
Examples of ECs:
- Ozone Depleting Substances (ODSs) – Refrigerants, fire suppressants, solvents, others that have been or are being phased out of production.
- Perchlorate – Munitions/propellant oxidizer; highly water soluble; affects thyroid function; intense Congressional interest regarding DoD releases.
- Personal care products / Pharmaceuticals – Possible endocrine disruptors; subject of much press due to presence in finished drinking water.
- Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) or perfluoroalkyls – Examples of the most widely know C8-chemicals include perfluoroctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA); found in fire-fighting and stain-resistant products; highly persistent; expected production phase-out was 95% by 2010, 100% by 2015 but old chemical stocks still found in many current products.
- Naphthalene – Primary ingredient in mothballs; component of JP-8, aviation, automobile fuels; proposed ‘carcinogenicity’ listing by US EPA would affect PPE, handling, storing, transporting naphthalene.
- Sulfur Hexafluoride – Greenhouse gas (GHG) or ‘global warming’ gas used in electrical and other essential applications.
- Nanomaterials – Very wide use of nanomaterials, e.g., nanozinc in sunscreens, nanocomponents in medicines, nanocarbons in cleanup applications (Zero Valent Iron) and military and commercial airframes; difficult to analyze for; found in foods, air, dust, water, and in mammalian and plant tissues.
The Army is committed to understanding better and acting earlier to manage risks from emerging contaminants, and will continue to serve as a member of MERIT and continue collaborating to identify and develop mitigation measures for emerging contaminants. Strategic risk reduction investments enable the Army to protect Soldiers, Civilians and Families proactively, sustain operational capabilities, and minimize unanticipated future costs.