Current

analytical capabilities are allowing scientists to identify possible contaminants in the environment that were previously unmonitored or were present at concen-trations too low for detection. New scientific evidence about the exposure pathways and potential impacts of some of these compounds on human or environmental health is regularly being published (Woodling et al., 2006; Drewes et al., 2005; Kinney et al., 2006; Gibs et al., 2007; Veldhoen et al., 2006). Recent news headlines have de-clared potential human health and ecological concerns regarding the occurrence of personal care products and pharmaceuticals in our environment. These are products that we regularly use (or create) in our homes, business-es, farms and industry, including plasticizers, flame re-tardants, detergents, pesticides and herbicides, antibac-terial agents, steroids, antibiotics, and disinfection by-products. These ‘emerging contaminants ’ (ECs) are com-pounds that have recently been shown to occur widely in one or more environmental media, have been identified as being a potential public health or ecological risk, and yet adequate data are lacking to determine their actual risk (Younos, 2005; Soin and Smagghe, 2007; Hutchin-son, 2007). In response to the headlines, and recognizing the need for and benefits of multidisciplinary, collaborative research and expanded analytical capabilities, a group of proactive stakeholders from the mountain states of Col-orado and Wyoming (Table 1) formed the Consortium fo