Medicines and Drugs: an Environmental Problem?

Authors

  • T. Mackuľak Department of Environmental Engineering, Institute of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovakia
  • A. Škulcová Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Science Prague, Prague, Czech Republic | Department of Wood, Pulp and Paper, Institute of Natural and Synthetic Polymers, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovakia
  • N. Belišová Department of Environmental Engineering, Institute of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovakia
  • I. Horáková Department of Environmental Engineering, Institute of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovakia
  • D. Žabka Department of Environmental Engineering, Institute of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovakia
  • M. Semerád Department of Environmental Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
  • A. Vojs Staňová Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia | University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters, South Bohemian Research Center of Aquaculture and Biodiversity of Hydrocenoses, Vodňany, Czech Republic
  • P. Brandeburová Department of Environmental Engineering, Institute of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovakia

Keywords:

pharmaceuticals, drugs, occurrence, fate, environmental impact

Abstract

The presence of pharmaceuticals, drugs and their metabolites in the environment grows and represents an actual environmental problem, there is an increasing trend to involve new environmental technologies. We can therefore observe an increasing trend to involve new environmental technologies. Membrane technologies, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), and their various modifications are the most frequently studied advanced technologies. There is also an effort to develop new types of drugs that are biodegradable in sewage disposal plants. The adverse effects of drugs in the environment are already reflected in the European Union legislation. Active substances, such as diclofenac, 17-α-ethinylestradiol and 17-β-estradiol, estrone, erythromycin, clarithromycin and azithromycin, are included in the list of followed compounds in the water management monitoring. This screening was set up by the European Commission in 2015 to monitor and evaluate the risks posed by these compounds.

Published

2019-11-15

How to Cite

Mackuľak, T., Škulcová, A., Belišová, N., Horáková, I., Žabka, D., Semerád, M., Vojs Staňová, A., & Brandeburová, P. (2019). Medicines and Drugs: an Environmental Problem?. Chemické Listy, 113(11), 654–661. Retrieved from http://w-ww.chemicke-listy.cz/ojs3/index.php/chemicke-listy/article/view/3487

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Section

Articles