Occurrence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in water sources and urban water systems in Vietnam: A mini- review

Vietnam’s rapid urbanization, intensive agriculture, dense aquaculture, and uneven wastewater management have created recurring hotspots of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in rivers, canals, groundwater, wastewater, and drinking-water supply chains. This critical review synthesizes Vietnam-specific evidence for pharmaceuticals and personal care products, antibiotics, pesticides, PFAS, plastic additives, alkylphenols/bisphenols, cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes, and selected disinfection by-products (DBPs). The strongest evidence comes from urban canal systems in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, where mixed domestic, hospital, industrial, and drainage inputs produce ng/L-μg/L contaminant mixtures and, in some cases, antibiotic concentrations relevant to antimicrobial-resistance selection. Treated water and groundwater usually contain lower concentrations, but detections of pesticides, PFAS, phthalates, siloxanes, and DBPs indicate that chronic low-level exposure pathways remain plausible. Conventional drinking-water treatment is not designed to remove many dissolved and persistent CECs and can shift risk toward DBP formation when natural organic matter and chlorine demand are high. The review proposes a pragmatic Vietnamese roadmap built around hotspot-first source control, a tiered national CEC watch list, intake-focused surveillance, and targeted treatment upgrades, including activated carbon, biologically activated carbon, selective ozonation-biofiltration, and membranes for high-risk situations.