Due to various reasons like rapid growth population, urbanization and unsustainable use of water in agriculture and industries, this small portion of freshwater is
now under in serious stress [2]. Non polluted water is a fundamental need of
community and public health. On the event of World waterday 2002, a press release
of UNO Secretary General highlighted the significance of accessibility of high
quality drinking water. According to their report- an estimated 1.1 billion people are
unable to get safe water for drinking purpose, 2.5 billion people are not getting
proper sanitation, and more than 5 million people lost their lives due to water borne
as well as water-related diseases which is equal to ten times the number killed in
wars, on average, every year. So far where sufficient or plentiful water supplies are
available, they are growingly at risk from contamination and increasing demand.
They also reported that two thirds of world’s population is expected to live in
countries with moderate or severe water crisis by 2025 [5].
Polluted water mainly bears various infectious pathogens (like bacteria, virus
and protozoa) as well as carcinogenic organic anions and cations (NO 3 , PO 4 , SO 4 ,
F, Ca and Mg) and inorganic pollutants (acids, salts and toxic metals). When these
substances exceed the permissible limit can become very dangerous and can cause
serious diseases in humans and other organisms of the ecosystem [5]. Natural
activity like volcanic eruption can contribute a small part of the sources of water
pollutants but basically the key sources of water contaminants are anthropogenic
like poorly treated or untreated municipal wastes, discharges from individual septic
tanks, agricultural wastes like fertilizers, pesticides, industrial chemical wastes,
spilled petroleum products, mine drainage, spent solvents, etc. [3]. Pollutants can be
added into water bodies (both surface and ground water) through various processes
e.g., discharge processes, surface runoff, subsurface infiltration, or atmosphere
precipitation etc. Once the mixing of pollutants with water bodies occurs they are
immediately carried into the water cycle in a global context. Consumption of
polluted water can cause various water borne diseases like gastrointestinal illness by
pathogenic microbes and also affect liver, kidney, nervous system and immunity
[119]. Such pollutants are familiar to the society since long back termed as conventional pollutants because various researchers have reported their sources and the
adverse effects on ecosystem in detail.
In recent years, the study of so-called “emerging contaminants” gains more
attention than from conventional pollutants. Harmful effects of these emerging
contaminants on human health is so far not known and have been detected at very
low concentration (ng L
−1 to lg L
−1 levels) [33, 101] in the environment, particular
in waters. With rise in population as well as globalization has not only increase the
quantity of wastes but has also produced various emerging water pollutants which
include pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, herbicides and endocrine disrupting compounds in last few decades [119]. Everyday emerging contaminants are added to our environment and the main source of formation of these is
the byproducts of our modern lifestyle. We use chemical based products every day
and these chemicals remain in wastewater due to lack of proper wastewater
22
A. Ahamad et al.
now under in serious stress [2]. Non polluted water is a fundamental need of
community and public health. On the event of World waterday 2002, a press release
of UNO Secretary General highlighted the significance of accessibility of high
quality drinking water. According to their report- an estimated 1.1 billion people are
unable to get safe water for drinking purpose, 2.5 billion people are not getting
proper sanitation, and more than 5 million people lost their lives due to water borne
as well as water-related diseases which is equal to ten times the number killed in
wars, on average, every year. So far where sufficient or plentiful water supplies are
available, they are growingly at risk from contamination and increasing demand.
They also reported that two thirds of world’s population is expected to live in
countries with moderate or severe water crisis by 2025 [5].
Polluted water mainly bears various infectious pathogens (like bacteria, virus
and protozoa) as well as carcinogenic organic anions and cations (NO 3 , PO 4 , SO 4 ,
F, Ca and Mg) and inorganic pollutants (acids, salts and toxic metals). When these
substances exceed the permissible limit can become very dangerous and can cause
serious diseases in humans and other organisms of the ecosystem [5]. Natural
activity like volcanic eruption can contribute a small part of the sources of water
pollutants but basically the key sources of water contaminants are anthropogenic
like poorly treated or untreated municipal wastes, discharges from individual septic
tanks, agricultural wastes like fertilizers, pesticides, industrial chemical wastes,
spilled petroleum products, mine drainage, spent solvents, etc. [3]. Pollutants can be
added into water bodies (both surface and ground water) through various processes
e.g., discharge processes, surface runoff, subsurface infiltration, or atmosphere
precipitation etc. Once the mixing of pollutants with water bodies occurs they are
immediately carried into the water cycle in a global context. Consumption of
polluted water can cause various water borne diseases like gastrointestinal illness by
pathogenic microbes and also affect liver, kidney, nervous system and immunity
[119]. Such pollutants are familiar to the society since long back termed as conventional pollutants because various researchers have reported their sources and the
adverse effects on ecosystem in detail.
In recent years, the study of so-called “emerging contaminants” gains more
attention than from conventional pollutants. Harmful effects of these emerging
contaminants on human health is so far not known and have been detected at very
low concentration (ng L
−1 to lg L
−1 levels) [33, 101] in the environment, particular
in waters. With rise in population as well as globalization has not only increase the
quantity of wastes but has also produced various emerging water pollutants which
include pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, herbicides and endocrine disrupting compounds in last few decades [119]. Everyday emerging contaminants are added to our environment and the main source of formation of these is
the byproducts of our modern lifestyle. We use chemical based products every day
and these chemicals remain in wastewater due to lack of proper wastewater
22
A. Ahamad et al.