substances called pollutants, but many other molecules called "emerging micro-pollutants" exist and are not necessarily measured. These polluting compounds have been used for several decades now, in phytosanitary treatments, the development of new industrial processes such as hydraulic fracturing or the veterinary and medical use of drugs. These so-called "emerging" compounds inevitably accumulate in waters where their health, social and environmental effects are difficult to predict.

In fact, the regulatory analyzes in force only look at a limited number of micro-pollutants such as pesticides and fail to highlight the presence of many other important emerging pollutants such as drugs and metabolites (degradation product). of the initial molecule). Thus, the presence of more than 1000 chemical pollutants derived from pesticides, antibiotics, anticancer chemotherapies, endocrine disruptors, psychoactive drugs has been identified in the European aquatic environment with potentially harmful effects on the environment or human health. 1 .