Fate of pharmaceuticals in the environment - A review-

The occurrence of pharmaceuticals in environment originating from human consumption has received increased scientific attention during the last decades due to concerns regarding their combined environmental effects in aquatic and terrestrial environments, in flora and biota and by extent in human health. In this review, I summarized the existing knowledge on the entire life cycle of pharmaceutical substances, from their exposure (sources) and fate to their effects on the natural environment. Since the negative effects of several drugs along with the environmental damage they entail are now known, it can be suggested that pharmaceutical companies make greener pharmaceutical products to reduce these effects to the terrestrial and aquatic environment. The present review could provide suggestions to improve the pharmaceutical environmental management globally, such as methodologies for monitoring systems, that need to be put in place for consistent data collection. Another area of research that is important is the release of pharmaceutical compounds in manufacturing plants as well as from landfill effluent. Finally, one more area with need for further research is green chemistry which could reduce or even eliminate the potential hazards of pharmaceutical compounds that enter the environment, irrespective to the source of entry