Emerging pollutants in the urban water cycle in Latin America: A review of the current literature

• Published in: Journal of environmental management Vol. 237; pp. 408 - 423
• Main Authors: Peña-Guzmán, Carlos, Ulloa-Sánchez, Stefanie, Mora, Karen, Helena-Bustos, Rosa, Lopez-Barrera, Ellie, Alvarez, Johan, Rodriguez-Pinzón, Manuel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2019
• Subjects: bisphenol A; Brazil; drugs; effluents; Emerging pollutants; estradiol; estrone; hydrologic cycle; Latin America; Mexico; personal care products; Urban water cycle; wastewater treatment; Brazil; Mexico; Latin America; Urban water cycle; Emerging pollutants; Latin America
• ISSN: 0301-4797; 1095-8630; 1095-8630
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.02.100

Emerging pollutants (EP) are increasingly studied and characterized worldwide to improve the understanding of their environmental and toxicological impacts and their occurrence and behaviors in different environmental systems. Latin America has been subject to both environmental and toxicological impacts due to EP. To better understand these impacts, studies concerning pollutants have increased for the last ten years. The current study presents a critical review on the occurrence of different emerging pollutants in various components of the urban water cycle (UWC) in Latin America. The review is based on studies performed in 11 different countries between 1999 and 2018. The countries where the higher number of investigations were conducted are Brazil (53%) and Mexico (15%). The EP most often studied within the literature are pharmaceuticals, followed by personal care products. The most common EP reported were 17β-estradiol, bisphenol A and estrone; The UWC component with the greatest number of measurements in the reported studies were effluents from wastewater treatment plants. •Research on emerging pollutants in Latin America have not considered the full urban water cycle.•Reported studies have focused on pharmaceuticals in surface and wastewaters.•Occurrence data is growing, but evaluation of risks and control strategies are limited.•Regulatory structures for emerging pollutants in Latin America are almost non-existent.•Research efforts in this area must emphasize the integrated urban water cycle.