Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs): chemical fate, distribution, analytical methods and promising remediation strategies – a critical review

Growing population, increasing industrial and agricultural activities have resulted in the exponential release of high concern emerging pollutants into the environment, categorized under endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The hydrophobic and lipophilic properties of these persisting EDCs comprising of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, pesticides, surfactants, several industrial chemicals result in generation of complexes with soil organic matter favoring their bioaccumulation via food chain. At each trophic level, these cause negative reproductive, developmental, and neurological impacts in both humans and animals even at low concentrations of ng/L to μg/L. In soil, these impose ecotoxicological effects on soil organisms, reduce microbial activity and change the soil's physio-chemical properties. The present review provides an insight about its chemical fate in the environment with respect to their physiochemical properties, mechanisms and corresponding impacts in ecosystems. To mitigate EDCs, various regulatory frameworks designed around the globe have also been highlighted. Due to the unambiguous identification of EDCs structures and their amounts, the focus of this review has been also directed on the development of various analytical methods for their precise determination. Further, this review highlights the various physical and chemical methods for their removal with main focus towards the use of eco-friendly cost–effective approaches as phytoremediation, microbial remediation using bacteria, algae, yeasts, fungi and enzymatic remediation using ligninolytic enzyme systems of white rot fungi (WRF), generating no or minimum secondary pollutants. The prospects of immobilized microbes and enzymes on suitable nano supports to enhance their sensitivity against negative environmental factors, have also been summarized.