L’impatto sull’ambiente delle nostre abitudini quotidiane: gli inquinanti emergenti

In recent years there has been increasing concern over the environmental risks of so called “emerging contaminants” (ECs). ECs represent relatively newly discovered groups of unregulated contaminants which occur in the environment via a number of routes causing adverse ecological and human health effects, and generally include compounds used in everyday life and various industrial additives. Several groups of ECs are of particular concern because of their high rates of human usage and because of their biological effects. These ECs include natural and synthetic hormones, pharmaceuticals and personal care products. A range of non-standard effects have been reported for different ECs, in particular for ECs that are designed to be biologically active (e.g. veterinary and human drugs). These effects are often noted at concentration levels close to those measured in the environment. However, the implications of these effects in terms of ecosystem functioning have yet to be established. The environment will be exposed to a mixture of ECs and other contaminants. The impact of these mixtures is likely to be greater than the impact of the single substances on their own. It is therefore important that we begin considering the potential implications of these mixture interactions in terms of risk. The aim of this paper is to highlight the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment and their routes to human exposure. Particular attention has been given to endocrine disrupting effects and to antimicrobial resistance due to antibiotics.