A new catalyst has been created to destroy nitrophenols, some of the most pervasive and toxic pollutants in wastewater discharges. The catalyst was developed by scientists at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh who say it can rapidly destroy the chemicals in an environmentally friendly manner. Nitrophenols are man-made pollutants that mostly originate from wastewater discharges from the dye, pesticide and ammunition industries as well as from various chemical-manufacturing plants. They are also found in diesel exhaust particles. Thousands of tons of these agents are produced yearly by countries around the world. Registered as priority pollutants by the EPA, they are toxic to aquatic life. They produce immediate toxic effects to the nervous system, and some reports have implicated them as possible endocrine disruptors.