Pharmaceutical pollution: The B-side of medicines

Abstract

As life expectancy and the population ages increase, drug consumption grows, tending to improve the health and quality of
life of users. The activities of inspection and surveillance are supervised by the health agencies, however, there is little dissemination and regulation on what happens when drugs are disposed of as industrial waste, unused, expired or excreted products. A non-systematic search of the literature was carried out in order to make visible the problem of pharmacontamination that, even in low concentrations, affects drinking water and alters the life of the species. Based on the evidence collected, the presence of caffeine, ibuprofen, diclofenac, β-blockers and carbamazepine, among others, is noted. Thus, questions and controversies arise about the toxicological effects on the ecosystem (pharmacontamination), which without detection in the purification processes could remain in drinking water. Although the short-term effects on human health are unknown, this lack of evidence should not lead to the belief that the risks are negligible. In Argentina, where regulations are also scarce, the efforts of local scientists to determine the effects on sludge, soils, biota and groundwater, and of academic communities in the controlled elimination of drugs are appreciated.