Emerging contaminants, including microplastics and PFAS, are a growing environmental and public health concern in urban aquatic environments. These substances are pervasive in modern society—microplastics shed from synthetic clothing, packaging, and other consumer products, while PFAS compounds are present in a huge number of consumer products including non-stick cookware, cosmetics, clothing, and firefighting foam. Microplastics have been found to accumulate in a variety of human/animal organs including livers, testicles, and brains. These tiny plastic particles are now associated with oxidative stress, metabolic disorders, immune response, neurotoxicity, and reproductive toxicity. Microplastics can also act as vectors for toxic heavy metals such as lead and arsenic, which adsorb to their surfaces. Similarly, PFAS have been associated with decreased antibody response, dyslipidemia, decreased fetal growth, increased cancer risks, and more. Despite increasing recognition of their negative health impacts and ecosystem toxicity, comprehensive monitoring data for these contaminants remains limited due to the costs and complexity of their detection.

 

The Philadelphia region was recently identified as a PFAS “hotspot” by the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Delaware river is one of the most plastic-impacted rivers in the U.S., making the Philadelphia region an ideal testbed for microplastics distribution. The city is also home to complex nested watersheds and neighborhoods with great variance in socioeconomic conditions, making the city an ideal setting to investigate contaminant distribution patterns. Our research community will seek to understand the prevalence of microplastics and PFAS in Philadelphia's water systems, how these emerging pollutants co-occur with each other and heavy metals, and whether these contaminants present an immediate threat to human and ecosystem health in our city.