The detection of pharmaceutical residues remained elusive until instruments such as liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry became commonplace in environmental laboratories. The documentation of the occurrence of pharmaceutical residues and endocrine disrupting chemicals in water resources has raused questions about their long-term effects
Following the success of the first edition, this pioneering study of pharmaceuticals in the environment has been updated and greatly extended. It includes the status of research on pharmaceuticals in soil, with attention to terrestrial and aquatic environments as well as new substance categories such as tetracylines and chinolones and the latest results concerning contamination of the environment and risk reduction.
Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products Waste Management and Treatment Technology: Emerging Contaminants and Micro Pollutants provides the tools and techniques for identifying these contaminates and applying the most effective technology for their remediation, recovery and treatment. The consumption of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) has grown significantly over the last 35 years, thus increasing their potential risk to the environment. As PPCPs are very difficult to detect and remove using conventional wastewater treatment methods, this book provides solutions to a growing problem. - Includes sampling, analytical and characterization methods and technology for detecting PPCPs in the environment - Provides advanced treatment and disposal technologies for the removal of PPCPs from wastewater, surface water, landfills and septic systems - Examines the pathways of PPCPs into the environment
Human interaction with the environment remains one of the most pervasive facets of modern society. In a world characterized by rapid population growth, unprecedented global trade and digital communications, energy security, natural resource scarcities, climatic changes and environmental quality, emerging diseases and public health, biodiversity and habitat modifications are routinely touted by the popular press as they canvas global political agendas and scholarly endeavors.
This report calls for a better understanding of the effects of pharmaceutical residues in the environment, greater international collaboration and accountability distribution, and policy actions to prevent and remedy emerging concerns. Laboratory and field tests show traces of oral contraceptives causing the feminisation of fish and amphibians, and residues of psychiatric drugs altering fish behaviour. Antimicrobial resistance, linked to the overuse of antibiotics, has rapidly escalated into a global health crisis. Unless adequate measures are taken to manage the risks, pharmaceutical residues will increasingly be released into the environment as ageing populations, advances in healthcare, and intensification of meat and fish production spur the demand for pharmaceuticals worldwide. The report outlines a collective, life‑cycle approach to managing pharmaceuticals in the environment. A policy mix of source‑directed, use‑orientated and end‑of‑pipe measures, involving several policy sectors, can help to improve health and protect the environment.
A Proactive Approach to Improving and Protecting the Environment The accumulation of pharmaceuticals in the environment is a growing concern, the magnitude of which has not been determined, yet cannot be ignored. Touting the benefits of research and discovery as it relates to a pharmaceutical presence in the environment, Pharmaceutical Accumulation in the Environment: Prevention, Control, Health Effects, and Economic Impact explores ways to effectively minimize the harmful impact of environmental contaminants. It considers current practice in the field, provides a historical reference, and presents effective methods for detecting and containing low levels of environmental contaminants. It also offers practical suggestions for mobilizing private and public resources. Discusses Health Impacts and Risks to Humans and Other Living Species The contributors of this work consider important environmental contaminants that include pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and special products, such as contrast agents and illicit drugs. This book describes current health impact concerns, methods for assessing risk, and lessening the negative impact on health through research and analysis. It examines the costs of wastewater treatment, and considers ways to potentially reduce the effect of environmental contaminants in treated water and in the soil. It looks at what may be done about contaminated soil and landfills, addresses the costs of contaminant elimination, and suggests ways to get rid of contaminants sensibly and consistently. It also includes case histories and chapters authored by specialists who are experts in their fields. Developed as a reference for professionals and senior undergraduate and graduate students in environmental science/ecotoxicology, the text proposes advancements and applications that can help control pharmaceutical accumulation and improve the environment. It serves as a resource for those in the pharmaceutical industries, personal care product industries, and related areas; scientists and researchers in related areas; as well as environmental protection agencies, physicians, and medical personnel.
Pharmaceutical wastewater is now a major concern due to the improper legislation around the globe and the poor implementation of existing laws. This book covers the various aspects of pharmaceutical sources, treatment technologies, and the harmful effect on the natural environment. The book will also highlight the concept of the 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) as applied to the treatment and resource recovery systems for pharmaceutical treatment. The different innovative technologies will deal with reducing the energy requirements, the physical space requirements and impacts of treatment plants . Some case studies are included in order to fully understand the practical aspects of the treatment and modelling.
The observed concentrations of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in raw wastewater confirm that municipal wastewater represents the main disposal pathway for the PPCPs consumed in households, hospitals and industry. In sewage treatment plant effluents most PPCPs are still present, since many of these polar and persistent compounds are being removed only partially or, in some cases, not at all. Treated wastewater therefore represents an important point source for PPCPs into the environment. After passing a sewage treatment plant the treated wastewater is mostly discharged into rivers and streams or sometimes used to irrigate fields. If drinking water is produced using resources containing a substantial proportion of treated wastewater (e.g. from river water downstream of communities) the water cycle is closed and indirect potable reuse occurs. Human Pharmaceuticals, Hormones and Fragrances provides an overview of the occurrence, analytics, removal and environmental risk of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in wastewater, surface water and drinking water. The book covers all aspects of the fate and removal of PPCPs in the whole water cycle: consumption and occurrence, analytical methods, the legal background, environmental risk assessment, human and animal toxicology, source control options, wastewater and drinking water treatment as well as indirect reuse. The book presents a summary of the results obtained during the EU project "Poseidon", combined with further expert knowledge on the field, and is written at a level appropriate for professionals involved in management of water resource quality. Professionals in the field including decision makers, engineers and scientists, as well as students entering the field, will find this an invaluable source of information. First comprehensive study on the assessment, fate and removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in wastewater and drinking water treatment. Emphasises the importance of micropollutants in the water cycle, provides methods for quantifying their fate and technologies for their removal.
This volume addresses hospital effluents in terms of their composition and the management and treatment strategies currently (being) adopted around the globe. In this context, one major focus is on pharmaceutical compounds: their observed concentration range, ecotoxicological effects, and the removal efficiency achieved by the different technologies. Another focus is on management strategies (dedicated hospital wastewater treatment, or a combined approach also involving urban wastewater) and currently adopted treatments to reduce the released pollutant load. Innovative and promising technologies under investigation at the lab and pilot scale are presented. A discussion of remaining knowledge gaps and future research requirements rounds out the coverage. The respective chapters, written by experts in the different fields, provide useful information for a broad audience: scientists involved in the management and treatment of hospital effluents and wastewater containing micropollutants, administrators and decision-makers, legislators involved in the authorization and management of healthcare structure effluents, and environmental engineers involved in the design of wastewater treatment plants, as well as newcomers and students interested in these issues.
Pharmaceuticals, due to their pseudo-persistence and biological activity as well as their extensive use in human and veterinary medicine, are a class of environmental contaminants that is of emerging concern. In contrast to some conventional pollutants, they are continuously delivered at low levels, which might give rise to toxicity even without high persistence rates. These chemicals are designed to have a specific physiological mode of action and to resist frequently inactivation before exerting their intended therapeutic effect. These features, among others, result in the bioaccumulation of pharmaceuticals which are responsible for toxic effects in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. It is extremely important to know how to remove them from the environment and/or how to implement procedures or treatments resulting in their biological inactivation. Although great advances have been made in their detection in aquatic matrices, there remains limited analytical methodologies available for the trace analysis of target and non-target pharmaceuticals in matrices such as soils, sediments, or biota. There are still many gaps in the data on their fate and behavior in the environment as well as on their threats to ecological and human health. This book has included nine current research and three review articles in this field.
