Recent research data on the removal of pharmaceuticals from sewage treatment plants (STP)

• Main Authors: José Luiz Tambosi, Leonardo Yassuhiro Yamanaka, Humberto Jorge José, Regina de Fátima Peralta Muniz Moreira, Horst Friedrich Schröder
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Química 2010-01-01
• Series: Química Nova
• Subjects: ecotoxicity; environment; pharmaceuticals
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-40422010000200032

Pharmaceutical compounds have been detected in sewage treatment plant (STP) effluents, surface waters and, less frequently, in groundwater and drinking water, all over the world. Different sources are responsible for their appearance in the aquatic environment, however, it is widely accepted that the main sources of this type of pollutant are STP effluents. The adverse effects of pharmaceuticals in the environment include aquatic toxicity, development of resistance in pathogenic bacteria, genotoxicity and endocrine disruption. Thus, the discharge of these compounds to the environment in STP effluents should be minimized.