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Occurrence of Pharmaceuticals in the Environment

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Ecopharmacovigilance

Part of the book series: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry ((HEC,volume 66))

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Abstract

Roughly 4,000 pharmaceuticals are manufactured and marketed in the world for use in the treatment, prevention, and diagnosis of diverse diseases in humans and animals. Once their role in body systems has been accomplished, these compounds are excreted from the body, having aquatic ecosystems as their final destination. Pharmaceuticals are also released into the environment as a result of manufacturing processes and inadequate disposal of unused or expired medications. The environmental concentrations that have been detected in water systems are usually at trace levels (ng L−1 to μg L−1) since removal in sewage treatment plants is not significant for most pharmaceuticals as these facilities have not been designed to reduce or eliminate these contaminants, representing instead a continuous contribution to the environment. Effluents have been identified as the main entry route of pharmaceuticals into the environment. This chapter aims to review, compile, and analyze research studies on the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the environment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Toxicología Ambiental, Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, Estado de Mexico, Mexico

    Nely SanJuan-Reyes, Leobardo Manuel Gómez-Oliván, Hariz Islas-Flores, Octavio Dublán-García & María Dolores Hernández-Navarro

  2. Laboratorio de Toxicología Acuática, Departamento de Farmacia, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Unidad Profesional Adolfo López Mateos, Mexico City, Mexico

    Nely SanJuan-Reyes, Marcela Galar-Martínez & Sandra García-Medina

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  1. Nely SanJuan-Reyes
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  2. Leobardo Manuel Gómez-Oliván
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  3. Hariz Islas-Flores
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Correspondence to Nely SanJuan-Reyes .

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  1. Facultad de Química, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico

    Leobardo Manuel Gómez-Oliván

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SanJuan-Reyes, N. et al. (2017). Occurrence of Pharmaceuticals in the Environment. In: Gómez-Oliván, L. (eds) Ecopharmacovigilance. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 66. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2017_142

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