Environmental impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products

The environmental effect of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) is currently being widely investigated. PPCPs include substances used by individuals for personal health or cosmetic reasons and the products used by agribusiness to boost growth or health of livestock. More than twenty million tons of PPCPs are produced every year. PPCPs have been detected in water bodies throughout the world. The effects of these chemicals on humans and the environment are not yet known, but to date there is no scientific evidence that they affect human health. The environmental effect of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) is currently being widely investigated. PPCPs include substances used by individuals for personal health or cosmetic reasons and the products used by agribusiness to boost growth or health of livestock. More than twenty million tons of PPCPs are produced every year. PPCPs have been detected in water bodies throughout the world. The effects of these chemicals on humans and the environment are not yet known, but to date there is no scientific evidence that they affect human health. Further research is needed to evaluate the risks of toxicity, persistence, and bioaccumulation. PPCPs encompass environmental persistent pharmaceutical pollutants (EPPPs) and are one type of persistent organic pollutants. They are not removed from wastewater by conventional methods. The European Union has declared pharmaceutical residues with the potential of contamination of water and soil to be 'priority substances'. Since the 1990s, water contamination by pharmaceuticals has been an environmental issue of concern. In addition, it is important to note that many public health professionals in the United States began writing reports of pharmaceutical contamination in waterways in the 1970s.” Most pharmaceuticals are deposited in the environment through human consumption and excretion, and are often filtered ineffectively by municipal sewage treatment plants which are not designed to manage them. Once in the water, they can have diverse, subtle effects on organisms, although research is still limited. Pharmaceuticals may also be deposited in the environment through improper disposal, runoff from sludge fertilizer and reclaimed wastewater irrigation, and leaky sewer pipes. In 2009, an investigative report by Associated Press concluded that U.S. manufacturers had legally released 271 million pounds of compounds used as drugs into the environment, 92% of which was the industrial chemicals phenol and hydrogen peroxide, which are also used as antiseptics. It could not distinguish between drugs released by manufacturers as opposed to the pharmaceutical industry. It also found that an estimated 250 million pounds of pharmaceuticals and contaminated packaging were discarded by hospitals and long-term care facilities. The series of articles led to a hearing conducted by the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Transportation Safety, Infrastructure Security, and Water Quality. This hearing was designed to address the levels of pharmaceutical contaminants in U.S. drinking water. This was the first time that pharmaceutical companies were questioned about their waste disposal methods. 'No federal regulations or laws were created as a result of the hearing.' 'Between the years of 1970-2018 more than 3000 pharmaceutical chemicals were manufactured, but only 17 are screened or tested for in waterways.' Alternately, 'There are no studies designed to examine the effects of pharmaceutical contaminated drinking water on human health.” In parallel, the European Union is the second biggest consumer in the world (24% of the world total) after the USA and in the majority of EU Member States, around 50% of unused human medicinal products is not collected to be disposed of properly. In the EU, between 30 and 90% of the orally administered doses are estimated to be excreted as the active substances in the urine. The term environmental persistent pharmaceutical pollutants (EPPP) was suggested in the 2010 nomination of pharmaceuticals and environment as an emerging issue to Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) by the International Society of Doctors for the Environment (ISDE). Depending on the sources and ingredients, there are various ways in which the public can dispose of pharmaceutical and personal care products in acceptable ways. The most environmentally safe disposal method is to take advantage of a community drug take-back programs that collect drugs at a central location for proper disposal. Several local public health departments in the United States have initiated these programs. In addition, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) periodically promotes local take-back programs, as well as the National Take Back Initiative. Currently, take-back programs are funded by state or local health departments or are volunteer programs through pharmacies or health care providers. In recent years, the proposition that pharmaceutical companies should be responsible for their products “from the cradle to the grave,” has been gaining traction. This philosophy suggests that the manufacturers should fund the proper disposal of pharmaceutical products. Take-back programs should exist in every community, and, if further information is required on this, city officials should be contacted. If no such program exists locally, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of National Drug Control Policy suggest that consumers do the following: