National Reconnaissance of Emerging Contaminants

Don't you just love that title. They must have a special department to create obscure ones. In any case this is also from the USGS and seems of interest to those concerned about water quality.

"Emerging Water Quality Issues Investigations

Recent decades have brought increasing concerns for potential contamination of water resources that could result inadvertently during production, use, and disposal of the numerous chemicals offering improvements in industry, agriculture, medical treatment, and even common household conveniences. Increasing knowledge of the environmental occurrence or toxicological behavior of contaminants has resulted in increased concern for potential adverse environmental and human health effects. For many contaminants, public health experts have incomplete understandings of their toxicological significance (particularly effects of long-term exposures at low-levels)."