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In the recent time, considerable interest has grown concerning the presence of the emerging industrial chemicals, EmIC. They are contaminants that have possible pathway to enter to the environment and they are dominantly released by industrial and anthropogenic activities. EmIC are applied in different fields using as industrial chemicals (new and recently recognized), global organic contaminants (flame retardant chemicals), pharmaceuticals (for both human and animal uses), endocrine-modulating compounds, biological metabolites, personal care products, household chemicals, nanomaterial (energy storage products, lubricants), anticorrosive and agriculture chemicals and others that are applied to a wide variety of everyday items such as clothing, upholstery, electronics and automobile interiors. NORMAN (Network of reference laboratories for monitoring of emerging environmental pollutants) has established an open, dynamic, list of emerging substances and pollutants. EmIC have been recently detected in the environment due to their long-term presence, pseudo-persistence and increased use. Improvements in sophisticated analytical methods and time integrative passive sampling have enabled the identification and quantification of EmIC, in very low concentrations (ppb, ppt and lower), which likely have been present in all environmental mediums for decades. Passive technology is an innovative technique for the time-integrated measurement of emerging contaminants in water, sediment, soil and air. Passive samplers are simple handling cost-effective tool that could be used in environmental monitoring programmes. These devices are now being considered as a part of an emerging strategy for monitoring a range of emerging industrial chemicals and priority pollutants in the aquatic environment. EmIC are substances that are not included in the routine monitoring programmes and whose fate, behaviour and (eco)toxicological effects are still not well understood. Emerging pollutants have no regulatory standards based on peer-reviewed science. EmIC might jeopardize aquatic environment. The first screening analyses of emerging industrial and priority organic contaminants in the Danube surface water, in the vicinity of Novi Sad, have been done and approximately more than 140 compounds have been registered. The new sampling campaign, screening and target analyses are in progress. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III46009]

Seasonal variations of caffeine and antibiotic concentrations were investigated along the selected sites of the Danube using solid-phase extraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The potential risks on the aquatic organisms were evaluated. HPLC methods for caffeine and antibiotic determination were modified and validated showing good accuracy, repeatability, selectivity, and robustness. The obtained results confirmed the presence of caffeine at four sampling points, near the wastewater discharges. The mean caffeine concentrations for summer, autumn, winter, and spring were 24.78, 26.83, 24.61, and 86.29 ng/L, respectively. The analyzed antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole, chloramphenicol, and tiamuline) were under the limit of detection in all tested samples taken from the Danube. The maximum risk indexes (MaxRIs) were calculated for caffeine at each sampling site. Four out of seven selected sampling sites showed sublethal effects on the aquatic organisms with 10 < MaxRI < 100 (class II), while the other three had no potential risk for aquatic organisms. The highest potential risk was calculated for the sampling site in the vicinity of one of the biggest wastewater discharges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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