Thanks to improved analytical techniques chemicals used in personal care and pharmaceutical products are now amongst the most commonly detected compounds in surface waters worldwide. Collectively referred to as micropollutants, they include pharmaceuticals and ingredients from cosmetics, toothpastes, sunscreen, skin moisturisers, shampoos, analgesics and even recreational drugs. Micropollutants enter the aquatic environment predominantly via wastewater because conventional sewage treatment methods cannot completely remove them before the effluent is discharged. To date there have been only limited assessments on their presence and impacts in coastal environments. Experiments have shown that some of them can accumulate in sediments and biota and have endocrine disrupting effects on aquatic organisms. Micropollutants have been detected for the first time in Antarctica, in effluent from Scott Base, McMurdo Station and Mario Zucchelli Station, the surrounding sea water and sea ice, as well as in benthos, at similar concentrations to temperate coastal waters. Recent work around the Antarctic Peninsula has now found traces of fragrances, analgesics and anti-inflammatories in aquatic systems.

Pollution PPCPs Sewage Wastewater