ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the state of the art review on ecotoxicity, transport behavior of emerging contaminants in the subsurface and its remediation techniques. It provides the hydrogeological behaviors of emerging contaminants through the subsurface, that is, from the land surface to the aquifer. In India, agriculture is the primary supportive sector, whereas industries are a secondary supportive sector to economic growth. Mechanical dispersion causes movement of plume in the parallel as well as in the perpendicular direction with respect to the main groundwater flow direction. Plant roots intercept and retard the movement of contaminants and prevent the movement of contaminants to the groundwater by reverting the hydraulic gradient by extracting the available water. The US Environmental Protection Agency considered the negative impact of such pharmaceuticals and personal care products on the ecology and classified these as soil–water pollutants. Bioremediation strategies hold great potential as practical approaches in which biological catalysis acts on emerging pollutants.
