Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

Urban Infrastructure as a Vector for Emerging Contaminant Exposure

Description

Urban infrastructure and the built environment represent critical yet underexplored pathways through which emerging contaminants reach human populations. As cities expand and age, the materials and systems that comprise our built environment increasingly serve as sources, reservoirs and transport vectors for diverse classes of both legacy and emerging environmental contaminants. This session examines the complex relationships between urban infrastructure, emerging contaminants and human exposure across multiple environmental media. Stormwater infrastructure channels tire wear particles, microplastics and PFAS from roadways into aquatic ecosystems and drinking water sources. Building materials continuously release phthalates, bisphenols and other additives into indoor environments where human contact is prolonged. Drinking water distribution systems can leach plasticizers and polymer additives while transforming contaminants through interactions with biofilms and residual disinfectants. Urban dust accumulates contaminants from degrading infrastructure, creating aggregate exposure scenarios that traditional single-pathway assessments fail to capture. This session brings together researchers investigating how infrastructure design, material selection and system age influence contaminant release and transport. We seek presentations addressing source characterization, environmental fate through built systems, exposure assessment methodologies and analytical innovations for detecting these diverse contaminant classes. Of particular interest are studies examining multiple contaminant classes simultaneously, investigations of transformation products generated within infrastructure systems and research quantifying the relative contribution of built environment sources to total human exposure. Topics may include: tire and road wear particle emissions; microplastic generation from building materials; PFAS mobilization through stormwater systems; leaching from water distribution infrastructure; indoor exposure to polymer additives; multi-class contaminant screening methods; bioavailability and toxicity of infrastructure-derived contaminants; and risk assessment frameworks incorporating built environment exposure pathways. This session will advance understanding of how urban systems inadvertently create exposure pathways for emerging contaminants, informing infrastructure design and public health protection strategies.