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Pharmaceuticals in the Environment - - Why Should We Care?
Citation:
DAUGHTON, C. G. AND I. RUHOY. Pharmaceuticals in the Environment - - Why Should We Care? Chapter 0, Benoit Roig (ed.), Pharmaceuticals in the Environment: Current Knowledge and Need Assessment to Reduce Presence and Impact. IWA Publishing, London, Uk, , XIII - XVII, (2010).
Impact/Purpose:
Why do (or should) we devote such attention to the PiE issue, especially if we stop to consider that APIs reside in the ambient environment at concentrations that not long ago were considered infinitesimally low - - from parts-per-billion to sub-parts-per-trillion (sub-nanograms per liter, or picomolar) and lower? Roughly a decade ago, these levels were extraordinarily difficult for chemists to routinely detect for any chemical in an environmental matrix and were also far below any levels of known toxicological concern. At the least, however, exposure to PiE incrementally contributes to the overall burden of chemical stressors with which each organism must maintain its homeostasis.
Description:
"Take only pictures. Leave only footprints." Perhaps the ultimate expression for the concepts of sustainability and the "ecological footprint," this credo of the hiker and spelunker reflects the collective importance of the seemingly innocuous, minuscule impacts that can accrue from each individual's isolated actions. In reality, however, this credo is simply not possible to uphold, as humans unavoidably leave behind indelible trails of telltale fingerprints. Wherever we live or travel, we impart unique chemical signatures on the environment in the form of minute residues of pharmaceuticals and personal care products that we excrete, wash from our bodies, or discard to sewerage or trash. Even the literal fingerprints we leave behind can contain residues of drug ingredients secreted through our sweat. While the residues originating from each individual may be insignificant by themselves, the combined contributions from all individuals, as well as from medicated animals, can reach measurable levels in surface and ground waters and on land receiving treated sewage residuals. Yet another acronym for one of the many menageries of chemicals that without invitation take up residency in the environment is PiE - - Pharmaceuticals in the Environment. With continually escalating attention devoted by the technical literature and popular press, pharmaceuticals as pollutants in the environment comprise a large, diverse class of thousands of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). These chemicals serve as a widely recognized archetype for the much larger galaxy of so-called "emerging contaminants" (ECs). The ECs aren't necessarily new to the environment - - rather it's the attention we have begun to devote to their ubiquitous presence - - where they occur as interlopers at best, or troublemakers at worst.
URLs/Downloads:
IWA-2010.pdfDAUGHTON 10-017 FINAL BOOK CHAPTER KNAPPE-IWA BOOK CHAPTER _19BAUG10_ - PRE-PUB VERSION FOR WEB.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 86 KB, about PDF)