preview

Pcp Essay

Decent Essays

Pharmaceuticals are defined as prescription, over the counter and veterinary therapeutic drugs used to prevent or treat human and animal diseases, while personal care products (PCPs) are used mainly to improve the quality of daily life [16]. Over the past few years, there has been growing awareness of the unintentional presence of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in various compartments of the aquatic environment at concentrations capable of causing detrimental effects to the aquatic organisms. This has become a major concern because PPCPs are extensively and increasingly used in human and veterinary medicine, resulting in their continuous release to the environment. Although pharmaceutical pollutants do not seem …show more content…

In 2007, PPCPs such as diclofenac, iopamidol, musks and carbamazepine were identified as future emerging priority candidates. Ibuprofen, clofibric acid, triclosan, phthalates and bisphenol A are proposed additions to this list [45].
Programs that encourage people to drop off their unused medications serve two purposes, they keep unused drugs out of the water and prevent redirection of drugs such as opioid painkillers for illegal purposes. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has implemented new guidelines to discourage hospitals and nursing homes from flushing unused drugs down the drain or toilet and for individuals to discontinue flushing most, but not all, unused drugs. These efforts by the EPA comes at a time when pharmaceuticals and personal care products are increasing at an alarming rate, will it be enough to keep our waters safe?
It’s safe to say that us, consumers are the cause of a large percentage of the PPCPs that end up in streams, rivers, and lakes. Only a small portion of unused and expired drugs are disposed of properly in the typical American household. “Data collected from a medication collection program in California in 2007 suggest that about half of all medications — both prescription and over-the-counter — are discarded”. The remainder of drugs our bodies don’t metabolize is excreted in urine or feces and enters the wastewater. One man's use of testosterone cream can put as much hormone into the water as

Get Access