Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) as Emerging Environmental Pollutants: Toxicity and Risk Assessment
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) include several classes of organic chemicals that are used to treat human and animal diseases and improve the quality of life. The production and consumption of these compounds plays a vital role in impro
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Sunil Chopra and Dharmender Kumar
19.1 Introduction Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), which include diverse groups of organic chemicals, are a class of compounds considered as emerging organic contaminants (EOCs). These products include nutritional supplements, diagnostic agents, antibiotics, hormones, musk fragrances, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as well as other drugs that are used for veterinary medicine, human health, agricultural practice, and cosmetic care (Farre et al. 2008; Fent et al. 2006). PPCPs in aquatic environments are considered as some of the most critical environmental pollutants (Al-Odaini et al. 2010). PPCPs enter the ecosystem in a number of ways. Effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) or sewage treatment plants (STPs) and large farms with many animals are considered as the main sources responsible for the discharging of PPCPs into the environment. These PPCPs are not completely digested by humans and animals, and undigested PPCPs are excreted as waste and washed off into sink drains. PPCPs, like hormones, are naturally excreted by humans and animals, and this poses potential risks both to the ecosystems into which the PPCPs are discharged and to drinking water resources. Many studies performed worldwide have shown that hundreds of PPCPs and their derivatives are usually detected in various environments. Concentrations of PPCPs in groundwater vary from place to place; in incompletely treated water, concentrations are less than 0.1 μgl, and in drinking water and treated water, concentrations are commonly below 0.05 μg/l. PPCP metabolites are also commonly detected in the environment; the lifespan of PPCPs and their metabolites in the environment varies from months to years, depending on their natural degradation in the environment (US EPA, 2013). Almost all PPCPs seem to be biologically active in nature. These compounds are designed to act in humans and animals according to specific pathways and processes S. Chopra · D. Kumar (*) Department of Biotechnology, Deenbandhu Chhottu Ram University of Science and Technology, Sonepat, Haryana, India © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018 S. K. Gahlawat et al. (eds.), Advances in Animal Biotechnology and its Applications, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4702-2_19
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to cure diseases. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA 2013) considers PPCPs as emerging contaminants. There is little knowledge about the impact of these contaminants on human health after they are released into ecosystems. PPCPs are widely detected in many aquatic environments around the world—in rivers, lakes, and groundwater in almost every continent. There is some evidence of PPCPs in groundwater and surface is reported in literature (Table 19.2). PPCPs in aquatic environments have negative effects on aquatic species. Steroid hormones have adverse effects on the environment, and even at μgL−1 or ng−1concentrations can inhibit reproduction in aquatic species. The continuous
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