A Human Health Risk Assessment of Pharmaceuticals in the Aquatic Environment (original) (raw)
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Human health risk assessment from the presence of human pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment
Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 2009
Analyses were conducted on four pharmaceutical compounds, representing different therapeutic classes, to evaluate the presence and potential adverse human health effects of trace levels of these substances in aqueous environmental media. Acetylsalicylic acid, clofibrate, cyclophosphamide, and indomethacin have been detected in aqueous environmental media including sewage treatment plant effluent, surface water, drinking water, and groundwater. An extensive literature search and chemical-specific risk assessments were performed to assess the potential human health significance of each compound's individual presence in environmental media. Safe water quality limits were estimated for each pharmaceutical by following the USEPA Methodology for Deriving Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human Health and were compared to the concentrations found in the environment. The calculation of the provisional ambient water quality criteria involved estimation of human exposure to contaminated water, including intake via bioaccumulation in fish, and calculation of cancer risk and non-cancer hazard indices. Parameters detailing the toxicological and pharmacological nature, exposure assessment, and environmental fate and transport of each pharmaceutical were also considered. The overall conclusion was that based on available data, no appreciable risk to humans exists, as the detected concentrations of each of these pharmaceutical compounds found in aqueous media were far below the derived safe limits.
Molecules, 2020
Potential risks associated with releases of human pharmaceuticals into the environment have become an increasingly important issue in environmental health. This concern has been driven by the widespread detection of pharmaceuticals in all aquatic compartments. Therefore, 22 pharmaceuticals, 6 metabolites and transformation products, belonging to 7 therapeutic groups, were selected to perform a review on their toxicity and environmental risk assessment (ERA) in different aquatic compartments, important issues to tackle the water framework directive (WFD). The toxicity data collected reported, with the exception of anxiolytics, at least one toxicity value for concentrations below 1 µg L −1. The results obtained for the ERA revealed risk quotients (RQs) higher than 1 in all the aquatic bodies and for the three trophic levels, algae, invertebrates and fish, posing ecotoxicological pressure in all of these compartments. The therapeutic groups with higher RQs were hormones, antiepileptics, anti-inflammatories and antibiotics. Unsurprisingly, RQs values were highest in wastewaters, however, less contaminated water bodies such as groundwaters still presented maximum values up to 91,150 regarding 17α-ethinylestradiol in fish. Overall, these results present an important input for setting prioritizing measures and sustainable strategies, minimizing their impact in the aquatic environment.
Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 2004
Recently, considerable interest has developed regarding the presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment, but as yet the potential ecological effects associated with the presence of these compounds have been largely ignored. In this review, laboratory-based acute and chronic toxicity data, as well as studies concerned with the effects of pharmaceuticals on a variety of different organisms, are examined, along with the reported environmental concentrations of pharmaceuticals in aquatic systems. The possible sources and pathways of these compounds to the environment and the effects of a variety of medicines on a range of organisms are also highlighted, and recommendations are made for further research.
Current society consumption patterns have increased the production of chemical residues causing negative impacts on environment. Pharmaceutical waste is among the environmental contaminants that receive great prominence and international attention, and it is causing impact especially in aquatic environments. Interaction happening between different classes of drugs present in environment in unknown proportions and amounts may produce higher toxicity compounds, whose effects have not been studied. Moreover, many drugs are not metabolized in the human organism and thus they are excreted with no changes in its chemical properties, making them persistent contaminants in the environment. Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCP) such as cosmetics, hormones, antidepressants, and antibiotics are well known about the effects of their residues and are characterized as environmental pollutants. Some cosmetics and especially hormones can be potent endocrine disruptors for non-target organisms while antibiotics can select extremely resistant bacteria, leading to serious problem for human health. All these medicines usually contaminate aquatic systems through improper disposal, and they are often present in urban wastewater. Faced with the potential of pharmaceuticals to reach the environment and to affect the exposed biota, this chapter aims to provide information on the occurrence of major pharmaceuticals in the environment, to present the main effects that such agents can cause on the different non-target organisms, and to correlate the impacts caused by different types of pharmaceuticals on environmental health.
Ecotoxicological aspects related to the presence of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment
Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2010
Pharmaceuticals are biologically active and persistent substances which have been recognized as a continuing threat to environmental stability. Chronic ecotoxicity data as well as information on the current distribution levels in different environmental compartments continue to be sparse and are focused on those therapeutic classes that are more frequently prescribed and consumed. Nevertheless, they indicate the negative impact that these chemical contaminants may have on living organisms, ecosystems and ultimately, public health. This article reviews the different contamination sources as well as fate and both acute and chronic effects on non-target organisms. An extensive review of existing data in the form of tables, encompassing many therapeutic classes is presented.
Aquatic environmental assessment of the top 25 English prescription pharmaceuticals
2001
An environmental assessment is presented for the 25 most used pharmaceuticals in the National Health Service (NHS) in England in 2000. Predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) for the aquatic environment were calculated using conservative assumptions and all PECs exceeded 1 ng l À1 . The calculation of predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC) based on aquatic toxicity data from the literature was possible for eleven of the pharmaceuticals. PNECs were predicted with ECOSAR for 12 of the remaining 14 but no data was available for two of the compounds. The PEC/ PNEC ratio exceeded one for Paracetamol, Amoxycillin, Oxytetracycline and Mefenamic acid. Comparisons of the predicted concentrations of the compounds in sewage sludge based on either calculated sludge-water coefficients ðK d Þ; octanol water coefficients ðK ow Þ; acid base constants ðpKaÞ or environmental modelling revealed large variations. No toxicity data was available for the terrestrial environment and no assessment was made. r
Occurrence of pharmaceuticals in surface waters
2021
The present work illustrates the development of an analytical method, based on offline solid phase extraction (SPE) followed by liquid chromatography-electron spray ionisation-single quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) for the simultaneous determination of pharmaceuticals belonging to various therapeutic classes (analgesics/anti-inflammatories, lipid regulators, antibiotics, antiepileptics, antipsychotics, psychomotor stimulants, glucocorticoid steroids, disinfectants, beta-blockers, H2 receptor antagonists and oestrogens) in surface waters. The method developed was applied for the analysis of pharmaceutical residues in surface waters from different sampling points along the aquatic systems of Lake Pamvotis and the River Kalamas, close to the city of Ioannina (Epirus, Greece), while the monitoring programme was carried out during the four seasons of the year. According to the results obtained, the majority of the compounds were detected in discrepant concentrations. The concentrations for all the compounds ranged from levels below quantification limit to 3506 ng/L, with caffeine and salicylic acid being the ubiquitous compounds. The results of the monitoring contributed substantially to the knowledge on the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in Greece and more specifically in surface waters of the region of Epirus. Regarding the environmental risk due to the presence of target compounds in surface waters, this was estimated calculating risk quotients (RQs) for different aquatic organisms (algae, daphnids and fish). The results denoted a possible threat for the aquatic environment, rendering in this way the RQ method as a helpful tool for a first approach. Extensive study is needed for triclosan, salicylic acid, sulfamethoxazole and erythromycin in order to better correlate their occurrence and potential toxic effects in aquatic life and humans.
Ranking and prioritization of environmental risks of pharmaceuticals in surface waters
Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 2004
Pharmaceuticals have been reported in surface waters, prompting legitimate public concern, as pharmaceuticals are biologically active compounds used daily by the public. Currently there are ecotoxicological data available for <1%, thus, the European Union CommissionÕs Scientific committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity, and Environment (CSTEE) recommended use of (Q)SAR models and precaution to prioritize further risk assessment of $4500 compounds and their adjuvants. We ranked 2986 different pharmaceutical compounds in 51 classes relative to hazard toward algae, daphnids, and fish using the EPIWIN program. This ranking cannot be used to acquit a compound based on predicted relative ranking. Modifying additives were the most toxic classes. Cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, antiviral, anxiolytic sedatives hypnotics and antipsychotics, corticosteroid, and thyroid pharmaceuticals were the predicted most hazardous therapeutic classes. The overall relative order of susceptibility was estimated to be daphnids > fish > algae. Expert judgment is needed to assess specific hazards for classes like microbial resistance and antibiotics, sex hormones, and endocrine disruptors. As human health and the function of ecological systems are interconnected and subject to the precautionary principle, harmonization of evidence for correlation and causality of adverse effects seems sensible in an ethical and cost-effective context to facilitate substitution of hazardous compounds. Data available: http://www.uoguelph.ca/\~hsander/.
Annals of the ”Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati. Fascicle II, Mathematics, Physics, Theoretical Mechanics, 2019
Currently, there is an urgent need to strengthen the scientific knowledge and to adopt the most appropriate means to monitor the emerging pollutants in different water and wastewater sources and at the same time to evaluate their actions and risks on human health. Emerging contaminants (ECs) or pollutants (EPs) are, in the widest sense, any synthetic or natural compound or any microorganism that is not ussualy found or monitored in the environment, with potentially known or suspected ecotoxicological and negative effects on human health. Among the EPs, pharmaceuticals and personal care products are well-known for their adverse reactions. Among pharmaceutical compounds, antibiotics such as amoxicillin, cefuroxime, ciprofloxacin etc. are recognized as a class of emerging contaminants due to the fact that these compounds have been massively administered to humans and animals and usually persist in the environment through a complex vicious cycle of biotransformation and bioaccumulation. Two other classes of emerging pollutants-endocrine disruptors and contraceptives-are compounds that can mimic or interfere with the normal function of hormones in the body. These substances can turn on, stop or alter the signals that hormones carry, which can in turn affect the normal functions of the body. As regards of pharmaceuticals, a set of programs has been launched in EU Member States to reduce the risks that they pose to human health and the environment, here including several comprehensive monitoring programs. In the light of the new regulations and the concerns regarding the presence of pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment, the experimental design is a very important step in achieving the detection of selected compounds, such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, endocrine disruptors and contraceptives, in the Romanian aquatic natural ecosystems. In this paper we highlighted the ecotoxicological effects of selected ECs and EPs, as well as the proposed methodology for their analysis.
Risks to aquatic organisms posed by human pharmaceutical use
Science of The Total Environment, 2008
In order to help prioritize future research efforts within the US, risks associated with exposure to human prescription pharmaceutical residues in wastewater were estimated from marketing and pharmacological data. Masses of 371 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) dispensed in the US in 2004 were estimated from marketing data, and then divided by therapeutic dose rate to normalize for potency. Metabolic inactivation of the 50 most dispensed APIs was estimated from published data, and active metabolites were tabulated.