Pharmaceuticals in the environment [vol. 41] / edited by R E Hester and R M Harrison.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Medicines play an important role in the treatment and prevention of disease in humans and animals, but residues from these medicines can be released into the environment through a number of routes during their manufacture, use and disposal. It is only recently that the potential environmental impacts of this exposure to pharmaceuticals are being considered.

The book explores where pharmaceutical residues can be found, e.g. in surface waters, drinking water, sediments and the marine environment; the sources of these residues, from manufacture through to disposal of unused medicines; how these residues break down; and how this all impacts on wildlife and human health.

In reviewing the current position and examining further possible impacts, this book is an important reference for researchers working in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as for environmentalists, policy makers and students on pharmacy and environmental science courses wanting to better understand the impacts of pharmaceuticals on the environment.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Editors (p. xv)
• List of Contributors (p. xvii)
• The Pharmaceutical Industry and the Future of Drug Development (p. 1)
• 1 Introduction (p. 1)
• 1.1 Historical Background (p. 2)
• 1.2 What is a Pharmaceutical? (p. 4)
• 1.3 Environmental Impact (p. 7)
• 2 The Pharmaceutical Industries (p. 8)
• 3 Research, Discovery and Development (p. 10)
• 3.1 Pre-clinical Trials (p. 10)
• 3.2 Clinical Trials (p. 12)
• 3.3 Environmental Issues (p. 15)
• 4 Commercial Realities (p. 16)
• 4.1 Problems with Patents (p. 16)
• 4.2 Maintaining a Viable Business (p. 20)
• 4.3 Access to Medicines (p. 21)
• 5 The Pharmaceutical Industry in the Future (p. 23)
• 5.1 Commercial Pressures (p. 23)
• 5.2 Environmental Challenges (p. 25)
• 6 Conclusions (p. 28)
• References (p. 29)
• Distribution of Pharmaceutical Residues in the Environment (p. 34)
• 1 Introduction (p. 34)
• 2 Occurrence of Pharmaceuticals (p. 36)
• 3 Reviews of Pharmaceutical Products (p. 42)
• 4 Measured Concentrations (p. 44)
• 5 Modelling to Complement and Extend the Utility of Field Programs (p. 45)
• 5.1 Measure or Model? (p. 47)
• 5.2 Estimates of API Consumption for Use in Modelling Analysis (p. 48)
• 5.3 Modelling for Design of Field Surveys (p. 49)
• 5.4 Elucidating Fate and Transport Mechanisms (p. 49)
• 5.5 Critical Evaluation of Measured Concentrations (p. 52)
• 5.6 Modelling to Support Human Health and Environmental Risk Assessments (p. 53)
• 5.7 Models to Evaluate Potential Impacts of Natural and Synthetic Estrogens (p. 56)
• 5.8 Using Models to Evaluate Mitigation Strategies (p. 58)
• 6 Conclusion (p. 58)
• References (p. 59)
• Pharmaceuticals in the Marine Environment (p. 70)
• 1 Introduction (p. 71)
• 2 Key Sources of Pharmaceuticals Entering the Marine Environment (p. 71)
• 2.1 Human Pharmaceuticals and Illicit Drugs (p. 71)
• 2.2 Veterinaiy Medicines (p. 74)
• 2.3 Environmental Fate of PhACs in Marine Environments (p. 75)
• 2.4 Concentrations of PhACs Measured in the Marine Environment (p. 77)
• 2.5 Impacts on Marine Organisms (p. 82)
• 2.6 Human Health Concerns (p. 85)
• 3 Conclusions (p. 86)
• References (p. 87)
• Sources of Pharmaceutical Residues in the Environment and their Control (p. 92)
• 1 Introduction and Overview (p. 93)
• 2 Pathways of Exposure (p. 94)
• 3 Patient Consumption and Excretion (p. 96)
• 3.1 Human Excretion (p. 96)
• 3.2 APIs Excreted into the Sewage System Undergo Wastewater Treatment (p. 98)
• 4 Emissions from Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (p. 99)
• 5 Unused Medicines and their Disposal (p. 100)
• 5.1 Disposal in Municipal Solid Waste (p. 104)
• 6 Wastewater Treatment (p. 104)
• 7 Hospitals (p. 106)
• 8 Minor Pathways (p. 106)
• 8.1 Exposure through the Consumption of Foods (p. 106)
• 8.2 Exposure through Water Consumption (p. 107)
• 9 Conclusions (p. 108)
• References (p. 108)
• Pharmaceutical Residues in Sewage Treatment Works and their Fate in the Receiving Environment (p. 120)
• 1 Introduction (p. 121)
• 2 Pharmaceuticals in Municipal Wastewaters (p. 126)
• 2.1 Occurrence in Municipal Sewage (p. 126)
• 2.2 The Fate and Behaviour of Pharmaceuticals in Sewage Works (p. 128)
• 2.3 Removal of Pharmaceuticals during Conventional Wastewater Treatment (p. 129)
• 2.4 Occurrence in Sewage Sludge (p. 136)
• 3 Need for Advanced Treatment and Sustainability Implications (p. 137)
• 4 Pharmaceuticals in Receiving Waters (p. 146)
• 4.1 Occurrence (p. 146)
• 4.2 Fate and Behaviour (p. 149)
• 5 Significance of Levels of Pharmaceuticals in Waters (p. 155)
• 6 Discussion (p. 164)
• 6.1 Recommendations to Reduce Pharmaceutical Inputs (p. 166)
• 7 Summary (p. 168)
• References (p. 169)
• Ecotoxicology, Environmental Risk Assessment and Potential Impact on Human Health (p. 180)
• 1 Introduction (p. 181)
• 2 Some Relevant Pharmacology (p. 181)
• 2.1 Pharmacokinetics (p. 181)
• 2.2 Pharmacodynamics (p. 183)
• 3 General Approaches and Data Availability (p. 185)
• 3.1 Dealing with Data Distributions (p. 185)
• 3.2 What is a 'Safe' Concentration? (p. 187)
• 3.3 Data Feast and Famine (p. 188)
• 4 Potential Risks to Humans (p. 189)
• 4.1 Predicted Environmental Concentrations versus Acceptable Daily Intakes (p. 190)
• 4.2 Measured Environmental Concentrations versus Acceptable Daily Intakes (p. 192)
• 4.3 Genotoxicity (p. 192)
• 4.4 Hormonal Disruption (p. 193)
• 4.5 Susceptible Sub-populations (p. 195)
• 4.6 Conclusions on Human Risks (p. 197)
• 5 Potential Risks to Aquatic Life (p. 198)
• 5.1 Limitations of Available Ecotoxicity Data (p. 198)
• 5.2 Predicted Environmental Concentrations versus Predicted No Effect Concentrations (p. 200)
• 5.3 Measured Environmental Concentrations versus Predicted No Effect Concentrations (p. 201)
• 5.4 Estrogenic APIs (p. 202)
• 5.5 Antidepressants (p. 203)
• 5.6 Plasma Concentration Model (p. 204)
• 5.7 Conclusions on Risks to Aquatic Life (p. 206)
• 6 Antibiotics, Clinical Resistance and Potential Risks to Beneficial Microbes (p. 206)
• References (p. 210)
• Impacts of Pharmaceuticals on Terrestrial Wildlife (p. 216)
• 1 Introduction (p. 217)
• 1.1 A Global Context (p. 217)
• 1.2 Scale and Pathways (p. 218)
• 1.3 Recognised Impacts on Non-target Wildlife (p. 219)
• 1.4 Aim of this Chapter (p. 220)
• 2 Pathways, Exposure and Effects in Terrestrial Wildlife (p. 221)
• 2.1 Pathways, Exposure and Effects Associated with Freshwater Contamination (p. 221)
• 2.2 Pathways, Exposure and Effects within the Terrestrial Landscape (p. 223)
• 3 Known Impacts in Terrestrial Wildlife (p. 226)
• 3.1 Case Study: Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs and Avian Scavengers (p. 226)
• 4 Analytical and Monitoring Approaches and Challenges (p. 228)
• 4.1 Analytical Tools (p. 228)
• 4.2 Monitoring Approaches - Transformation Products (p. 231)
• 4.3 Wildlife Exposure: Novel Biomarkers and Endpoints (p. 232)
• 4.4 Field Monitoring and Sample Matrices (p. 233)
• 5 Legislative Perspectives (p. 236)
• 5.1 Case 1: Scavenging Wildlife and Pentobarbital in the US (p. 236)
• 5.2 Case 2: Veterinary NSAIDs in the EU, South Africa and on the Indian Subcontinent (p. 238)
• 6 Future Priorities (p. 240)
• 6.1 Better Quantify Potential Risks for Terrestrial Wildlife (p. 240)
• 6.2 Improve Risk Assessment for Terrestrial Environments (p. 241)
• 6.3 Better Understand the Risks Posed by Pharmaceutical Transformation Products (p. 242)
• 6.4 Develop New Ways of Monitoring Across a Wider Range of Taxa (p. 242)
• 7 In Conclusion (p. 243)
• References (p. 244)
• Veterinary Pharmaceuticals (p. 255)
• 1 Introduction (p. 256)
• 2 Legal and Regulatory Demands Concerning Environmental Impact of VMPs in the EU (p. 258)
• 3 The Impact of VMPs on the Environment (p. 264)
• 3.1 Emission of VMP Residues Related to Production (p. 264)
• 3.2 Emission of VMPs Residues Related to Use (p. 266)
• 3.3 Emission of VMPs Residues Related to Disposal (p. 269)
• 4 Specific Toxic Effects of VMPs (p. 270)
• 4.1 Antiparasitics in the Aquatic Environment (p. 271)
• 4.2 Antimicrobials in Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments (p. 272)
• 4.3 Antiparasitics for Pasture Animals (p. 274)
• 4.4 Risks to Vultures and other Necrophagous Bird Populations in the European Union in Connection with the Use of Veterinary Medicines Containing Diclofenac (p. 276)
• 5 Monitoring and Ecopharmacovigilance (p. 279)
• References (p. 280)
• Subject Index (p. 286)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

The series has been edited by Professors Hester and Harrison since it began in 1994.

Roy Harrison OBE is Queen Elizabeth II Birmingham Centenary Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Birmingham. In 2004 he was appointed OBE for services to environmental science. Professor Harrison's research interests lie in the field of environment and human health. His main specialism is in air pollution, from emissions through atmospheric chemical and physical transformations to exposure and effects on human health. Much of this work is designed to inform the development of policy.

Ron Hester is an emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of York. In addition to his research work on a wide range of applications of vibrational spectroscopy, he has been actively involved in environmental chemistry and was a founder member of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Environment Group. His current activities are mainly as an editor and as an external examiner and assessor on courses, individual promotions, and departmental/subject area evaluations both in the UK and abroad.