PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS IN THE ENVIRONMENT: SOURCES, EFFECTS AND RISKS

Abstract

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products have become an environmental problem in recent years. Their physicochemical properties and persistence in the environment have allowed the distribution of degradates and parent compounds in water, soil, air and food. The widespread use of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in hospitals, domestic residences, agricultural and industrial facilities has increased their discharge into the water bodies, and its toxicity has started to manifest in different biological components of ecosystems. The development of methods for sample treatment and instrumental analysis techniques has enabled the separation, identification and quantification of active ingredients and degradates with higher environmental impact, at concentrations of parts per billion or even parts per trillion. In addition, in vitro and in vivo assays have demonstrated their ecotoxicity in water, driving them to the classification of emerging organic pollutants, whose waste is indeterminate. Although their adverse effects are still unknown, they could have strong implications for global public health. This review presents the dynamics and the development of research over the past ten years about the presence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics, antihypertensives, antibiotics and other drugs in water bodies. Similarly, it described the impact of pharmaceutical activity, hospital services and domestic effluents on water quality.