Aug 2026· Asian Journal of Environment & Ecology· 0 citations
TL;DR
The synthesis indicates that no single biological technology provides universal control and risk reduction is more defensibly pursued through source control, robust biological treatment and targeted polishing, supported by mass balances, transformation-product screening, effect-based endpoints and antimicrobial-resistance assessment.
Abstract
Pharmaceutical residues are now routinely detected in wastewater-impacted aquatic environments because medicinal compounds and their metabolites enter sewerage, industrial effluents, agricultural drainage and receiving waters through multiple, often continuous pathways. Their environmental significance cannot be inferred from occurrence alone: risk depends on potency, exposure duration, mixtures, transformation products, species sensitivity and the capacity of treatment systems to reduce biologically active mass. This critical narrative review integrates evidence on sources, ecological effects and bioremediation, with emphasis on wastewater-impacted freshwaters and on technologies that rely substantially on microbial, fungal, algal or plant-associated processes. Literature was selected through live searches of multidisciplinary and environmental or biomedical scholarly sources, supplemented by citation searching and DOI verification. The strongest causal ecological evidence comes from whole-ecosystem work with endocrine-active pharmaceuticals, while laboratory and field studies also support concern for behavioural disruption, chronic sublethal effects and antibiotic-driven selection for antimicrobial resistance. Nevertheless, extrapolation remains difficult because monitoring is dominated by parent compounds and targeted analytes, whereas mixtures and transformation products are incompletely characterised. Conventional activated sludge provides variable and compound-specific attenuation; apparent parent removal may reflect sorption or transformation rather than mineralisation. Membrane bioreactors, adapted bacterial consortia, white-rot fungi, microalgae and constructed wetlands can improve removal under favourable conditions, but evidence is uneven across scales and frequently relies on high test concentrations or parent disappearance. The synthesis indicates that no single biological technology provides universal control. Risk reduction is more defensibly pursued through source control, robust biological treatment and targeted polishing, supported by mass balances, transformation-product screening, effect-based endpoints and antimicrobial-resistance assessment. Future research should prioritise trace-level, full-scale comparisons and standardised demonstrations that connect chemical removal to reduced biological hazard.
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have emerged as contaminants of increasing environmental concern due to their continuous release, widespread occurrence, and persistence in aquatic ecosystems. Although numerous studies have investigated their occurrence, transformation, and removal, a comprehensive synthesis linking their environmental fate, associated risks, and remediation strategies remains limited. This review addresses this knowledge gap by integrating current understanding of PPCP sources, transport pathways, transformation processes, ecological and human health impacts, and emerging treatment technologies. PPCPs enter surface water, groundwater, and drinking water primarily through domestic, hospital, and industrial effluents, while the limited removal efficiency of conventional wastewater treatment plants facilitates their environmental persistence. Following their release, PPCPs undergo sorption, photodegradation, and microbial transformation, producing metabolites that may exhibit equal or greater toxicity than their parent compounds. Their occurrence has been associated with endocrine disruption, antimicrobial resistance, and chronic toxicity in aquatic organisms, highlighting the need for effective mitigation strategies. Current remediation approaches, including advanced oxidation processes, membrane filtration, adsorption, and biological treatments, offer significant potential but remain constrained by cost, scalability, and operational limitations. Overall, this review concludes that sustainable management of PPCPs requires an integrated framework combining advanced treatment technologies, comprehensive environmental monitoring, standardized risk assessment, and strengthened regulatory policies to minimize their long-term impacts on aquatic ecosystems and human health.
A. Bhat, A. Chaudhary, Mohamed A. M. Ali et al.· Marine Pollution Bulletin· 0 citations
Pharmaceutical pollution of freshwater ecosystems is an emerging environmental and public-health issue in India. The high drug consumption in the country, along with the presence of concentrated manufacturing hubs, inadequate wastewater treatment, and weak monitoring systems, is leading to rising pollutant release. This review summarizes the existing evidence on pharmaceutical contaminants in Indian freshwaters with the focus on classes of pollutants, sources of contamination, environmental fate, toxicological pathways, ecological risks and remediation strategies. Antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, stimulants and anticonvulsants are identified in the review as priority contaminant groups owing to their frequent detection, high use volume, environmental persistence and ecotoxicological relevance. These residues can enter freshwater systems through discharges from pharmaceutical manufacturing, hospital effluents, domestic wastewater, livestock runoff and agricultural pathways. Their persistence is due to their physicochemical properties, adsorption to sediment, incomplete biodegradation and limited removal in conventional wastewater treatment plants. Toxicological evidence points to risks of selection for antibiotic resistance, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, oxidative stress, reproductive impairment, genotoxicity and bioaccumulation in aquatic food webs. The review also covers microbial degradation, phytoremediation, constructed wetlands and advanced oxidation processes as remediation options and points out that the choice of technology should be context specific for industrial, municipal and natural water systems. This review offers a novel India-centric synthesis that links pharmaceutical production, consumption, environmental occurrence, ecological effects and remediation feasibility into an integrated framework for monitoring, policy reform and future research.
Vineet Kumar Poddar, A. Kumar, Ayan Srivastava et al.· Environmental Toxicology· 0 citations
Emerging contaminants (ECs) comprise a diverse group of synthetic and naturally occurring chemicals that are not routinely monitored but are increasingly recognized for their potential risks to ecosystems and human health. Many ECs, such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, endocrine-disrupting compounds, pesticides, nanomaterials, and industrial chemicals, are biologically active, environmentally persistent, and mobile, enabling them to exert toxicological effects even at ultra-trace concentrations. Their widespread occurrence in freshwater, marine environments, and drinking water sources reflects the limitations of conventional treatment systems and underscores the urgency of improved regulatory oversight. ECs enter the environment through multiple pathways, including wastewater effluent, agricultural runoff, urban stormwater, and improper disposal, subsequently dispersing across environmental compartments where they may bioaccumulate and disrupt biological processes. Evidence links EC exposure to endocrine disruption, developmental toxicity, antimicrobial resistance, and compromised ecological integrity, yet many remain undetected under existing monitoring frameworks. These challenges highlight the need for advanced analytical methods, standardized detection protocols, and robust risk assessment approaches to support effective governance. This review evaluates the global regulatory landscape for ECs, tracing policy developments from the 1970s to 2025 across major jurisdictions. By comparing regulatory approaches, action levels, and institutional responses, the paper identifies critical gaps, including inconsistent definitions, absence of enforceable thresholds, limited monitoring coverage, and slow adaptation of legacy water quality standards. The review emphasizes the growing relevance of group-based regulation, precautionary and adaptive management, and harmonized international monitoring frameworks. Collectively, this analysis provides an integrated perspective on how science, policy, and governance must evolve to address the complex, cross-border challenges posed by ECs.
A. Ismanto, Tony Hadibarata, Lilik Maslukah et al.· Environmental Sustainability· 0 citations
Current evidence suggests that, under environmentally realistic conditions, microplastics should not generally be regarded as vectors of pharmaceutical contaminants but rather as carriers, sinks, sources, and independent stressors, and future risk assessments should prioritize environmentally aged microplastics.
Muhammad Irfan, A. Qadoos, Muhammad Tahir et al.· Journal of Medical & Hea...· 0 citations
Nitenpyram (NIT), a widely used neonicotinoid insecticide, has gained attention due to its extensive use in agriculture and veterinary medicine and frequent detection in aquatic and terrestrial environments. Although considered relatively short-lived, evidence suggests NIT exhibits complex environmental behavior and notable ecological risks under realistic exposure. This review provides a comprehensive integration of current knowledge on the physicochemical properties, environmental fate, degradation pathways, and ecotoxicological impacts of NIT. We summarize NIT’s sources and distribution in surface waters, sediments, soils, and biota, emphasizing its high water solubility, mobility, and continuous input via agricultural runoff and wastewater. Key abiotic and biotic degradation processes—including photolysis, hydrolysis, and microbial transformation—are evaluated, with focus on the formation and ecological relevance of transformation products. Toxicological evidence shows that NIT induces acute and chronic effects in aquatic invertebrates, fish, and non-target organisms through neurotoxicity, oxidative stress, endocrine disruption, and behavioral changes, often at environmentally relevant concentrations. Major limitations in current risk assessments include overreliance on short-term endpoints, limited consideration of mixture effect, and neglect of transformation products and food web–mediated exposure. Future research should prioritize mechanism-informed toxicity assessment, realistic exposure scenarios, and integrated fate–effect modeling. Overall, NIT’s environmental risks are likely underestimated, highlighting the need for a holistic, ecosystem-relevant approach to pesticide risk assessment and management.
Yun-Xiu Zhao, Wen-Jing Li, Qiu-Tong Li et al.· Environmental Reviews· 0 citations
This study reviews the sources, fate, and impacts of pharmaceutical contaminants, emphasizing both conventional and modern drugs, including expired medications, and highlights the challenges associated with inadequate regulatory frameworks, limited public awareness, and inefficiencies in existing treatment technologies.
Santosh Kumar· International Journal of Env...· 0 citations
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