Research into groundwater contamination from onsite wastewater systems has primarily focused on the bacteria and viruses that make people sick. But there is another imminent problem wastewater professionals need to be aware of: micropollutants. These chemicals, present in very low concentrations, are an emerging issue for wastewater plants, and two recent studies suggest they may be the same for onsite systems.In daily life, micropollutants are medicines, sunscreen, cleaning products and artificial sweeteners used in products such as toothpaste. Except for a few cases, scientists generally do not know the effects when people and animals are exposed for a long time
