Abstract:
The presence of pharmaceuticals, herbicides, endocrine disruptors and personal care products have recently attracted the interest of researchers due to their concern with regards to a wide variety of human health risk arising from their prevalence in surface waters resulting from inadequate waste water treatment processes. In this study, a recent trend in the fate and occurrence of personal care products such as (triclosan, nitro, polycyclic, macrocyclic musk, surfactants, Alkyl-phenol, Ethylates, 4-nonylphenol carboxylates, octylphenol) and endocrine disrupting compounds such as (17B-estradiol, estriol, estrone, alkylphenols, bisphenols A) will be reviewed for South Africa. These compounds are found at wastewater treatment plants, domestic and industrial pathways, agricultural sources and surface waters of South Africa. Sample analysis includes extraction with solid phase process of chemical compounds, with techniques such as liquid chromatography, Gas chromatography (GM), Mass spectrometry (MS) and high performance Liquid chromatography (HPLC). The identification and quantification of these emerging chemical compounds in surface waters and wastewaters has become a major scientific responsibility which is lacking regulation currently in South Africa especially when endocrine disruptors’ compounds and personal care products have been detected to impact pregnant women and hormones of human adversely.
