Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs)
Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC’s) are the pesticides, pharmaceuticals, hormones, chemicals, micropollutants, and microplastics that are becoming more prevalent in our water due to human, agricultural and industrial activities. Our research project with McGill University demonstrated our system’s ability to remove 86% of these on average from wastewater.
One category of CEC’s are forever contaminants, so named because once they enter the environment they do not break down. Instead, they accumulate in our ecosystems and bodies. The long-term impact of these chemicals is not fully understood. Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are one such contaminant.
These chemicals in particular Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) have not been regulated so their distribution is only beginning to be understood and the recent findings are ominous. Used for decades as a protective coating for products, studies are revealing that these substances are in water supplies across North America. Research studies have shown that ozone is one of the few treatment approaches that can destroy PFOA and PFOS. One study demonstrated reductions of 85-100% through ozone with pH adjustment.