Contaminants

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) defines contaminants “as any physical, chemical, biological or radiological substance or matter in water. Drinking water may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. Some contaminants may be harmful if consumed at certain levels in drinking water. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk.” (Source)

Types of Marine Contaminants

Physical

• Marine debris including fishing gear
• Macroplastic ingestion
• Oil spills
• Light
• Noise

Biological

• Harmful algal blooms
• Water runoff

Chemical

• Oil spills
• Organochlorines (OC)
• Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, PFOA)
• Water runoff
• Micro and/or nano plastic ingestion, and associated chemicals (example: phthalates)
• Heavy metals (example: mercury (Hg)

 METAL primarily focuses on occurrence and effects of mercury in the environment.

 

 

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