Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
Winter 12-2016
Publication Title
Environmental Emission of Pharmaceuticals from Wastewater Treatment Plants in the USA
Department
Chemistry
College/School
Jesse D. Jones College of Science, Engineering and Technology
Abstract
The residual drugs, drug bioconjugates, and their metabolites, mostly from human and veterinary usage, are routinely flushed down the drain, and enter wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Increasing population, excessive use of allopathic medicine, continual introduction of novel drugs, and existing inefficient wastewater treatment processes result in the discharge of large volumes of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites from the WWTPs into the environment. The effluent from the WWTPs globally contaminate ~25% of rivers and the lakes. Pharmaceuticals in the environment, as contaminants of emerging concerns, behave as pseudo-persistent despite their relatively short environmental half-lives in the environment. Therefore, residual levels of pharmaceuticals in the environment not only pose a threat to the wildlife but also affect human health through contaminated food and drinking water. This chapter highlights WWTPs as point-sources of their environmental emissions and various effects on the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem.
Recommended Citation
Subedi, B., Loganathan, BG. 2016. Environmental emission of pharmaceuticals from wastewater treatment plants in the USA. In. Persistent Organic Chemicals in the Environment: Status and trends in the Pacific Basin Countries. Eds. Loganathan, BG., Khim, JS., Kodavanti, PR., Masunaga, S. ACS Symposium Series Vol. 1244. American Chemical Society and Oxford University Press. 181-202 pp.
Included in
Analytical Chemistry Commons, Environmental Chemistry Commons, Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Monitoring Commons, Water Resource Management Commons