Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Marine Environment: Current Challenges in Marine Pollution

Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Marine Environment: Current Challenges in Marine Pollution reviews available data in relation to CECs in the marine environment, including main sources, transport pathways, distribution in seawater and sediments, bioaccumulation and biological effects. Each chapter recaps the most relevant information on the main groups of CECs, describing the particularities and specificities of each group and focusing on the most relevant individual contaminants. Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) are not regulated substances, and therefore not considered in national and international monitoring programs, but have potential impact on the environment due to their continuous input, relative persistence and/or toxicity.

CECs are relevant not only in continental and coastal areas close to their main sources, but also in the open sea because some of them are capable to be transported long distances through air deposition or absorbed on particulate material. The persistence of many degradable substances in the marine environment increases when they are absorbed on particulate material/sediments and/or when they are subjected to anaerobic conditions which slow down the degradation kinetic for many contaminants.