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Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment: Cultural and spiritual perspectives
Author(s) -
Kookana Rai S,
Moggridge Bradley,
Mihinui Roku,
Gray Bruce,
Northcott Grant,
Boxall Alistair
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
integrated environmental assessment and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1551-3793
pISSN - 1551-3777
DOI - 10.1002/ieam.1348
Subject(s) - indigenous , sustenance , environmental ethics , natural (archaeology) , natural resource , cultural heritage , resource (disambiguation) , sociology , environmental planning , environmental resource management , geography , political science , ecology , environmental science , law , philosophy , computer network , archaeology , computer science , biology
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PCPE) enter the environment through several different pathways. The vast majority of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) found in aquatic ecosystems are a result of normal patient and consumer use and excretion following the use of medicines that are taken to prevent, cure or alleviate a medical condition. A second pathway is through improper disposal of unused or expired medicines by patients and consumers who flush them down toilets or pour them into drains. The third pathway is through wastewater discharged from API manufacturing sites. A major source of PCPE is from washing off products from the body during cleansing activities.