Chemical and microbial contaminants in the aquatic environment pose a potential threat to humans and to ecosystems. Humans may be exposed to contaminants in water resources when used for drinking water production, agriculture, aquaculture or recreation. Climatological, social and demographic changes, as well as the increasing sensitivity of analytical techniques, may result in the augmented detection of contaminants. Recent research has shown that it takes about 15 years from the time of the first scientific study mentioning the presence of a contaminant in the environment for the issue to peak in scientific attention and regulatory action. One possible factor influencing this lengthy period is that the first article becomes lost in the vast number of publications. In this study, we therefore developed a methodology using literature mining to identify the first scientific study which reports the presence of a contaminant in the aquatic environment. The developed semi-automated methodology enables health and environment agencies to inform policy makers about contaminants in the aquatic environment that could be significant for public and environmental health in national, international and river basin settings. The methodology thereby assists the proactive governance of emerging contaminants in the aquatic environment. This was illustrated by a retrospective analysis of the period of emergence in the Netherlands of: (1) perfluorooctanoic acid in surface water, and (2) biological industrial wastewater treatment systems as potential infection sources for Legionnaireś disease.

The presence of emerging contaminants in the aquatic environment may affect human health via exposure to drinking water. And, even if some of these emerging contaminants are not a threat to human health, their presence might still influence the public perception of drinking water quality. Over the last decades, much research has been done on emerging contaminants in the aquatic environment, most of which has focused on the identification of emerging contaminants and the characterisation of their toxic potential. However, only limited information is available on if, and how, scientific information is implemented in current policy approaches. The opportunities for science to contribute to the policy of emerging contaminants in drinking water have, therefore, not yet been identified. A comparative analysis was performed of current approaches to the risk governance of emerging chemical contaminants in drinking water (resources) to identify any areas for improvement. The policy approaches used in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and the state of Minnesota were analysed using the International Risk Governance Council framework as a normative concept. Quality indicators for the analysis were selected based on recent literature. Information sources used were scientific literature, policy documents, and newspaper articles. Subsequently, suggestions for future research for proactive risk governance are given. Suggestions include the development of systematic analytical approaches to various information sources so that potential emerging contaminants to drinking water quality can be identified quickly. In addition, an investigation into the possibility and benefit of including the public concern about emerging contaminants into the risk governance process was encouraged.