Day in, day out harmful substances leech into the ground and detergents are flushed down the drain: We all contribute to chemicals in the water cycle. On top of this come natural substances from the environment. A single environmentally relevant water sample contains up to several thousand different organic molecules. But what are these substances? Over 8,000 molecule profiles have already been stored in a public database for future analysis. This preventative water screening system is now being expanded internationally and harmonized with further strategies in the “FOR-IDENT” project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) [more].