USGS released the first part of a long-term study to look at the effects of CECs in landfill leachate earlier this week
The paper is entitled "Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Fresh Leachate from Landfills in the Conterminous United States" and has been published in Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts. More information on this study and other studies on contaminants of emerging concern can be found here. To learn more about USGS environmental health science, please visit the USGS Environmental Health website and sign up for our GeoHealth Newsletter or our Environmental Health Headlines.
Chemicals commonly detected include:
bisphenol A—detected in 95 percent of samples, used to make plastics and resins
cotinine—detected in 95 percent of samples, a chemical formed from nicotine
N,N-diethyltoluamide—detected in 95 percent of samples, also known as DEET
lidocaine—detected in 89 percent of samples, used as anti-itching and local anesthetic
camphor—detected in 84 percent of samples, used in a variety of medicines and lotions