Abstract
The occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the environment is an everyday recognized concern worldwide, and drugs as environmental contaminants have been detected in water and soil systems, posing risks to humans and wildlife. The presence of drugs in wastewater, groundwater, and even drinking water occurs in several countries, including Brazil, where the pharmaceutical market is expanding over the years. The adverse, harmful effects of pharmaceuticals in the environment range from the spreading of antimicrobial resistance and species survival to the interference with reproduction and increased cancer incidence in humans. Therefore, it is demanding to count on proper legislation to prevent these pollutants from entering the distinct environment compartments. In some developed countries, laws, directives, programs, and initiatives regarding drug disposal reach a mature status. In Brazil, federal laws dealing with drug residues’ management are recent, with flaws that might facilitate non-compliance with drug pollution issues. Besides, pharmacies and drugstores are not obligated to collect unneeded household medicines, while particular State laws aim to ordinate the disposal of drug residues regionally. In this review, we consider the current knowledge about pharmaceutical (drug) pollution, the recommendation and regulations on the disposal of useless medicines in some countries, and in the context of the expanding pharmaceutical market in Brazil. The awareness of emerging contaminants in the environment, besides the joint effort of authorities, consumers, and the general public nationwide, will be required to avoid pharmaceutical/drug pollution and achieve an eco-friendly environment and a sustainable society.
Highlights
Laboratory of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Institute for Marine Sciences, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, CE 60165-081, Brazil
endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) comprise natural and synthetic estrogens, alkylphenols used in detergent products, bisphenol A used for the lining of food and beverage cans, phthalates, organochlorine pesticides, perfluorinated compounds used as components of fire-fighting foams, polychlorinated biphenyls used as insulators in electric equipment, among others [57,58]
Oliveira and collaborators [78] reviewed the international and national regulations on managing drug residues to take current directions. They confirmed that examined countries in Europe, the Americas, and Australia all count with strict governmental regulations on drug management, as well as programs for safe disposal of unneeded medicines, and programs for aware the ecological and human health risks related to the inadequate disposal of medicines in the environment, as aforementioned
Summary
By a recent report of the Association of the Pharmaceutical Research Industry (INTERFARMA, Brazil), a non-profit association that represents almost 50% of all Brazilian pharmaceutical retail, which comprises drugstores and pharmacies, the revenues in the Brazilian pharmaceutical market increased from US$21.89 to 80.6 billion, from 2005 to 2018, This market volume reached a cumulative revenue of US$586.6 billion, as estimated by the Brazilian Medication Market Regulating Chamber. The emission of APIs/PPCPs as pollutants in the environment is a critical issue that needs to be evaluated and widely discussed because of its inherent local and global relevance This issue relies on the fact that attention is usually focused on environmental pollution caused by large quantities and volumes of hazardous residues from chemical and processing industries and final products, like plastics, rather than the APIs. The healthcare industry’s expansion correlates with a concomitant increase in the volume of pharmaceutical waste due to the increase in the number of consumers and patients, consumption of over-the-counter and prescription medicines, and excessive production of medications [11]. The increase in the production, diversification, and consumption of PPCPs, which includes facial creams and cleansers, sun blockers, repellents, fragrances, among others, contribute to the overall concern and overload of APIs/PPCPs in the environment that could result in drug contamination and pollution [12]
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