Abstract
Pharmaceuticals play an important role in the maintenance of the health of humans and animals. Following use, human pharmaceuticals are excreted into the sewage system and can then pass through sewage treatment plants into surface waters. Veterinary pharmaceuticals can released into soils during the application of animal manures to land as a fertilizer. As pharmaceuticals are biologically active molecules, in recent years there has been increasing interest from scientists and the general public over the potential impacts of pharmaceuticals on aquatic organisms and on humans that consume drinking water containing pharmaceuticals. In this talk, I will use a range of case studies to illustrate: how pharmaceuticals move from humans and animals to surface waters, drinking water supplies and agricultural soils; the fate of these substances in soils, waters and sediments; and will discuss the implications of presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment ecological and human health. Major gaps in our current knowledge will be highlighted and solutions to minimise the impacts of pharmaceuticals on the environment will also be presented.
