Issue 11, 2022

Updated knowledge, partitioning and ecological risk of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in global aquatic environments

Abstract

Over the last few decades, the occurrence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in aquatic environments has generated increasing public concern. In this review, data on the presence of PPCPs in environmental compartments from the past few years (2014–2022) are summarized by carrying out a critical survey of the partitioning among water, sediment, and aquatic organisms. From the available articles on PPCP occurrence in the environment, in Web of Science and Scopus databases, 185 articles were evaluated. Diclofenac, carbamazepine, caffeine, ibuprofen, ciprofloxacin, and sulfamethoxazole were reported to occur in 85% of the studies in at least one of the mentioned matrices. Risk assessment showed a moderate to high environmental risk for these compounds worldwide. Moreover, bioconcentration factors showed that sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim can bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms, while ciprofloxacin and triclosan present bioaccumulation potential. Regarding spatial distribution, the Asian and European continents presented most studies on the occurrence and effects of PPCPs on the environment, while Africa and Asia are the most contaminated continents. In addition, the impact of COVID-19 on environmental contamination by PPCPs is discussed.

Graphical abstract: Updated knowledge, partitioning and ecological risk of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in global aquatic environments

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Critical Review
Submitted
30 Mar 2022
Accepted
04 Sep 2022
First published
05 Sep 2022

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2022,24, 1982-2008

Updated knowledge, partitioning and ecological risk of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in global aquatic environments

M. D. J. S. Chaves, J. Kulzer, P. D. R. Pujol de Lima, S. C. Barbosa and E. G. Primel, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2022, 24, 1982 DOI: 10.1039/D2EM00132B

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