Analysis and Risks of Emerging Contaminants and Microplastics in Natural and Treated Waters and Human Health: A Critical Review

Emerging contaminants (ECs) and microplastics (MPs) are increasingly detected in surface waters, wastewaters, and drinking water, often as complex mixtures, transformation products, and particle-associated burdens that challenge routine monitoring. This critical review examines current analytical strategies for the detection and characterization of both molecular and particulate emerging contaminants in aquatic systems, with particular emphasis on their relevance to environmental and human health risk assessment. For molecular ECs, targeted LC-MS/MS and GC-MS and GC-MS/MS approaches are evaluated alongside high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS)-based suspect and non-target screening, retrospective data mining, and transformation-product elucidation. For MPs, particle-resolved vibrational spectroscopy including µ-FTIR and µ-Raman is critically assessed in comparison with complementary thermal analysis methods, such as pyrolysis-GC-MS and thermal extraction-desorption GC-MS (TED-GC-MS). Particular attention is given to the influence of sampling design, matrix-adapted sample preparation, analytical confidence, and method-dependent size and polymer coverage on data quality and interstudy comparability. The review further highlights the risks of ECs in relation to exposure pathways, mixture effects, and the potential carrier role of MPs for ECs, additives, and microorganisms. Finally, key priorities are identified for next-generation monitoring frameworks, including harmonized workflows, transparent confidence reporting, and stronger integration of analytical evidence with fate, exposure, and risk assessment.