Fate of Pharmaceuticals in the Environment and in Water Treatment Systems

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The detection of pharmaceutical residues became possible with the advent of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry in environmental labs. The documentation of these residues and endocrine-disrupting chemicals in water has raised concerns about their long-term ecological effects and potential human health impacts. This book addresses critical issues related to the occurrence, persistence, treatment, and transformations of pharmaceuticals in the environment and within drinking water and wastewater systems. It compiles recent literature, reviewing advancements in instrumentation and sample preparation techniques, and includes examples of risk assessment for pharmaceutical contaminants. Several chapters delve into the behavior of pharmaceuticals in soil and the potential side effects of antibiotic uptake by plants. Experts in water treatment present new findings on the effectiveness of current practices to reduce pharmaceutical concentrations at the source, offering insights into mitigating future challenges posed by emerging contaminants. Contributing authors from academia, government, and industry provide a multi-disciplinary perspective, discussing field studies on pharmaceutical occurrences and laboratory studies on degradation kinetics and by-product formation during treatment. The text also examines factors influencing the environmental fate of pharmaceuticals, aiding in the development of best management practices and