Drugs and the Environment: A Call for Change in Drug Dispensing Practice

Drugs and the Environment: A Call for Change in Drug Dispensing Practice

Recent studies noting the appearance of drugs in several environmental water sources have generated public concern and scientific inquiry into the best approaches for reducing the presence of drugs in these sources. In many cases, the concentration of drugs found in these water sources are several orders of magnitude below what would reasonably be considered toxic, even when accounting for the potential synergistic effects among several drug classes identified in these studies. Unfortunately, there is significant variation in the concentration of environmental drugs; especially when considering water sources that are close to wastewater treatment plants or landfills.