Departmental Seminar on 11.11.2026

Emerging contaminants—also known as micropollutants—are synthetic and natural chemicals like pharmaceuticals and pesticides that persist at low concentrations and pose toxic and endocrine-disrupting risks. These pollutants mostly accumulate in organic-rich sewage sludge rather than being removed in conventional wastewater treatment. While land-applying this sludge aligns with circular economy goals, it also spreads persistent, hard-to-degrade contaminants into agricultural soils and food chains, as removal efficiency depends heavily on a complex mix of contaminant chemistry, sludge characteristics, and processing conditions that single-stage treatments cannot fully resolve. Mitigating these risks requires a multi-pronged approach that combines strict source-control regulations with upgraded wastewater and sludge treatment technologies capable of removing diverse micropollutants before they become pollutant of the ecosystem.
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