Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are ecological disrupting compounds (EcoDC)

Erinn K Richmond,John J Kelly,Emma J Rosi,Alexander J Reisinger,Michael R Grace,David M Walters,Donald R Zak,Julian D Olden

doi:10.1525/elementa.252

Abstract

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are ubiquitous in freshwater ecosystems worldwide and are recognized as contaminants of concern. Currently, contaminants of concern are classified for their persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity (PBT criteria). PPCPs are not classified as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), although some PPCPs share characteristics similar to POPs. For example, PPCPs are known to be pseudopersistent due to constant discharge into the environment, often at low concentrations. At commonly reported environmental concentrations, PPCPs are rarely toxic, but the ability of these compounds to disrupt ecological processes and functions in freshwater ecosystems is often overlooked. Herein we briefly summarize recent studies highlighting the potential ecological effects of PPCPs, including effects on key ecological processes (e.g. primary productivity and community respiration), and we propose that appropriate screening for harmful effects of PPCPs in surface waters should be expanded to include Ecologically Disrupting Compounds (EcoDC) in addition to the established PBT criteria.

Highlights

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are biologically active compounds that are recognized as environmental contaminants of global concern due to their presence in ecosystems throughout the world (Monteiro and Boxall, 2010) and more recently as agents of global change (Bernhardt et al, 2017)
As the global human population and percentage of the population living in high-density urban areas continue to increase, PPCP contamination of ecosystems is expected to increase substantially both in the number of contaminated ecosystems, and in the typical PPCP concentration found in the environment (Weber et al, 2015)
Relative to other types of organic chemicals, e.g. polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), questions surrounding the biological impacts of PPCPs remain largely unanswered (Monteiro and Boxall, 2010)

Summary

Introduction

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are biologically active compounds that are recognized as environmental contaminants of global concern due to their presence in ecosystems throughout the world (Monteiro and Boxall, 2010) and more recently as agents of global change (Bernhardt et al, 2017). Known ecological disrupting effects of PPCPs Recent research investigating sub-lethal ecological effects of PPCPs has demonstrated that environmentally relevant concentrations of these compounds may alter ecological interactions and processes (Table 1).

Results

Conclusion