Sources of Pharmaceuticals in Water

This chapter focuses on the increasing environmental apprehensions and persistence of numerous organic contaminants so-called emerging contaminants (ECs), including biologically active elements from pharmaceutical source industries. Several types of diverse pharmaceutical-related compounds are being detected in environmental matrices and wastewater treatment units. Owing to this broader occurrence, transformation, and detection of pharmaceutical-related compounds in water matrices, people and legislative authorities are now more concerned about potential sources and ecological consequences of ECs. This is mainly because the free movement of ECs in water matrices is posing noteworthy adverse effects on human, aquatic animals, and naturally occurring plants, even at minimal concentrations. So far, several detection and treatment processes have been proposed and exploited against numerous pharmaceutical-related ECs. The useful and side effects of pharmaceutical-related compounds have been extensively inspected. Owing to this substantial research gap, the sources and environmental persistence of pharmaceutical-related ECs and their direct/indirect adverse effects have now been the topic of intensive studies. From the surface water perspective, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are the major source of pharmaceutical-related ECs. The current chapter spotlights the widespread occurrence, numerous sources, and transportation fate of pharmaceutical-related ECs in water matrices.The work is a part of the project entitled “Contaminantes emergentes y priori-tarios en las aguas reutilizadas en agricultura: riesgos y efectos en suelos, produc-ción agrícola y entorno ambiental” funded by CSIC-Tecnologico de Monterrey under iLink program. All listed authors are also grateful to their representative universities/institutes for providing literature facilities.Peer reviewe

Ibuprofen and diclofenac: Effect on freshwater and marine aquatic organisms-Are they at risk?

Pharmaceuticals are included in the group of emergent pollutants due to their characteristics and potential negative effects. They remain mostly unregulated or are undergoing currently some sort of regularization process. Diclofenac, for instance, has been included in a watch list of substances for European Union-wide monitoring and the priority list of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) of the European Union. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a varied and chemically heterogeneous group of mainly anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic drugs, reducing symptoms of inflammation, pain, and fever, respectively. They are widely employed and have been detected in freshwater, seawater, and sediment. Nevertheless, they are found as mixture instead of single compounds. In this chapter, we have tried to summarize how to assess the risk due to the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in aquatic ecosystems. We have focused on the mixture of diclofenac and ibuprofen using acute and sublethal toxicity data for different aquatic species. It has been presented new strategies as adverse outcome pathway to improve the understanding of the toxicity of these compounds. Although gaps of the information are pointed out, the risk levels associated with the occurrence of these compounds in aquatic ecosystems will range between no risk or high risk, depending on concentrations and environmental conditions.We would like to thank the projects CTM2016-75908-R and CTM2015-70731-R and the Junta de Andalucía PAIDI Excellence Research Group RNM306 for their support. MH is supported by the Spanish Ramón y Cajal funding scheme (contract reference RYC-2012-12217) of the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO)