Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the aquatic environment: implications for the drinking water industry and global environmental health.

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a group of chemical compounds with diverse physical and chemical properties. Recent studies have indicated undesired effects of EDCs and PPCPs at their reported trace concentrations (ng l(-1) to microg l(-1)). This paper reviews the current knowledge on the sources, properties, occurrence and health impacts of EDCs and PPCPs, and their removal from drinking water using ozonation and ozone/hydrogen peroxide-based advanced oxidation. The paper also examines the potential threats posed by these chemicals to drinking water and public health. While these compounds are known to have adverse effects on ecosystem health, notably in the fish population, a similar link is yet to be established between ingestion of these compounds through drinking water and human health. In addition, data on the effectiveness of existing methods for the removal of these compounds are not conclusive. Further studies are required to characterize risks, and also to evaluate and optimize existing removal processes. Also concerted international effort is urgent to cut down the risk of exposure and restrain the production and marketing of toxic chemicals.

Detection of heavy metal and hydrocarbon contamination using a miniature resistivity probe.

The usefulness of the electrical resistivity method for characterization of contaminated sites has been studied in many ways. The most commonly used device is a cone penetrometer that utilizes two or four electrodes to measure electrical resistivity (or conductivity) during a cone penetration test (CPT) along a vertical or horizontal alignment. This paper introduces a new miniature resistivity probe (MRP) that can potentially be deployed from a sampling platform to detect contaminant plumes prior to collecting soil samples. Following bench-scale tests aimed at quantifying the sensitivity of the MRP to various operating and environmental parameters, the response of the MRP in sandy soil containing various concentrations of tour heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb and Ni) and two hydrocarbons (phenol and gasoline) is evaluated. The test data revealed that the MRP has the potential to serve as an indexing tool for rapidly delineating contaminant plumes where heavy metals are present. The results for hydrocarbons were less conclusive, ranging from moderate ability to differentiate contaminated and non-contaminated soils for phenol to poor differentiation ability for gasoline.

A review of biodegradation of synthetic plastic and foams.

Synthetic polymeric foams have pervaded every aspect of modern life. Although foams provide numerous benefits, they also cause a significant environmental litter problem because of their recalcitrant and xenobiotic nature. Biodegradation may provide solution to the problem, but not enough is known about the biodegradation process of synthetic plastic and plasticbased foams. This review has been written to provide an overview of the current state of plastic foam biodegradation. Several biodegradation pathways of a few select synthetic polymers are also presented along with a discussion on some of the physico-chemical factors that can influence the biodegradation of plastic foams.