Figure 2.6.1: Pharmaceuticals in surface water, tap water and/or drinking water, 2013
Source: Adapted from Weber et al. 2016
Harmful effects of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds released from wastewater systems extend to natural ecosystems far from urban waste cycles. While the health benefits of medication are important for humans and livestock, the potential environmental risks of these substances to wildlife are just beginning to be clarified. A controlled experiment studying the effects of endocrine disruptors on fish found that exposure to synthetic oestrogen at concentrations similar to those found in wastewater resulted in near-extinction of the population (Kidd et al. 2014). There are a number of uncertainties associated with the environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals in the wild due to lack of knowledge concerning their fate in
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wastes and the environment, their uptake, metabolism and excretion in wildlife, and their target affinity and functional effects in non-target species (Arnold et al. 2014).
There are serious environmental hazards posed by two chemicals commonly used as antibacterial agents in a broad range of consumer products such as liquid soaps, toothpaste and deodorant (Aiello et al. 2007; Larson et al. 2004; USFDA 2013). A range of studies has produced no evidence suggesting that antibacterial soap and products provide any greater health benefits compared with old-fashioned soap and water. Furthermore, studies verified by GreenScreen assessment found that Triclosan and Triclocarban, both
