Environmental Biotechnology BIO60006: Ecosystem Contamination

This essay delves into the significant and growing concern of pharmaceutical waste and its detrimental effects on ecosystems, particularly aquatic environments. It begins by highlighting the sources of contamination, including human and veterinary drugs, and emphasizes the long half-lives of some pharmaceutical compounds, leading to accumulation and ecotoxicological impacts. The essay uses specific case studies to illustrate the consequences of pharmaceutical pollution, such as the feminization of male fish due to ethinylestradiol in Canada's Lake Ontario and high concentrations of antibiotics in Germany's sewage effluents. The essay further discusses the improper disposal of medicines and the release of metabolites from pharmaceutical facilities as additional sources of water contamination. The essay provides data from reports in the UK and India, demonstrating widespread contamination from various pharmaceutical compounds and the resulting disorders in aquatic organisms, including disruptions in enzymatic activity and metabolism. The essay concludes by emphasizing the need for intervention from governments, organizations, and companies to reduce pharmaceutical contaminants and protect ecosystems, including the implementation of stricter water treatment regulations and sustainable waste management practices.

EFFECTS OF PHARMACEUTICAL WASTES AND CONTAMINANTS ON ECOSYSTEMS 1
Effects of Pharmaceutical Wastes and Contaminants on Ecosystems

EFFECTS OF PHARMACEUTICAL WASTES AND CONTAMINANTS ON ECOSYSTEMS 2
Introduction
Hazardous pharmaceutical end products are increasingly a growing concern around the
globe. Pharmaceutical end products from hospitals and factories end up in the aquatic
environment after use. Patient drugs for human use and veterinary drugs for animal use are some
of the main sources of aquatic contamination (Vulliet and Olivé, 2011). Several pharmaceutical
products that are used either as human medicine or animal medicine are excreted as active
metabolites which end up being discharged in rivers, oceans, and lakes. Some of these
pharmaceutical end products are believed to have long half-lives in the water environment;
therefore end up accumulating up in aquatic environment until they cause ecotoxicological
effects. The exposure of these pharmaceutical compounds causes serious health problems to
marine animals. An excellent example of pharmaceutical compounds that cause serious health
problems to fish is endocrine disruptors. These chemical compounds disrupt the internal
biological processes of aquatic animals like growth, development, and reproduction (Momodu
and Anyakora, 2010).
There are many cases of release of pharmaceutical wastes that have been studied and
reported. One of the pharmaceutical products that have been studied extensively is
ethinylestradiol. Ethinylestradiol is the main ingredient that is found in contraceptives pills. It
has shown to have negative effects on the sexual development of male fish. A case that was
studied in Canada found out that the release of pharmaceutical products containing
ethinylestradiol led to near extinction of the fish population in Lake Ontario Canada (Zenker et
al. 2014). The study found out that the active ethinylestradiol ingredient in pharmaceutical waste
products had feminized male fish thereby leading to near extinction. As a result prevention
measures were put in place by environmental organizations.

EFFECTS OF PHARMACEUTICAL WASTES AND CONTAMINANTS ON ECOSYSTEMS 3
Another recent study was done in 2015 in Germany. The nation is one of the developed
regions with highly famous for its bulk production of drugs which is exported to other countries
outside the world. The concentrations of these pharmaceutical drugs in sewage effluents were
found to be greater than the blood of patients under the dosage of these drugs. The concentration
of ciprofloxacin, a broad spectrum of antibiotic was found to be as high as 35mg per liter which
indicate extreme the water pollution was (Li, 2014).
Some of the molecules of human medicine used to remain active in the environment after
being excreted. Besides, the improper disposal of these human medicines contributes to water
contamination as many patients fail to complete their doses and end up throwing in the sink or
toilet. These dugs end up in water sources thereby contaminating the water sources making it
unsafe for aquatic animals to live and making it unsafe for human beings to drink. According to
a 2014 research report which was published by United Kingdom Water Industry Research
Organization indicated that about 160 sewage treatment works that as studied had concentrations
of several human drugs that could potentially have a negative impact to the ecosystem (Saravana
et al. 2011). The human drugs found included diclofenac, ibuprofen, oxytetracycline , and
erythromycin. Some medicines that are manufactured from pharmaceutical facilities have shown
to release metabolites that are released in waterways.
Another case similar to the one that was reported in the UK was reported in India in 2007
(Rosi and Royer, 2012). The case reported high water pollutions from pharmaceutical drug
manufacturers in Patancheru in India. The area is highly famous for its bulk production of drugs
which is exported to foreign countries. The concentrations of these pharmaceutical drugs in
sewage effluents were found to be greater than the blood of patients under the dosage of these

EFFECTS OF PHARMACEUTICAL WASTES AND CONTAMINANTS ON ECOSYSTEMS 4
drugs. The concentration of ciprofloxacin, a broad spectrum of antibiotic was found to be as high
as 35mg per liter which indicate extreme the water pollution was (Li, 2014).
Recently, a case was studied that involved chemicals in water bodies in European countries
such as Germany, Italy, France, and Spain (Kumar and Xagoraraki, 2010). According to the case,
500 tons of analgesics are released to different water bodies in these countries. Some of these
water sources had diclofenac acid at a concentration of 3.02 mg/l and acetylsalicylic acid of
concentration of .022mg/l. the main sources of these waste products were active ingredients from
hospitals, drugs from manufacturing companies, residential and agriculture. The entry of these
chemicals in water bodies has contributed to nonspecific disorders in aquatic organisms. These
organisms were believed to absorb and distribute some of the active molecules which led to a
variety of disorders to these organisms. Also, the absorption of these chemical molecules by
aquatic animals resulted in the interruption of their enzymatic activity thereby disrupting their
metabolism and biodegradation process. As a result, there were death rates of aquatic anima ls
such as fish (Graham et al. 2010).
Reports have confirmed that the main source of pharmaceutical waste in drinking waters is
pharma industries (Cardoso, Porcher and Sanchez, 2014). Most of the research tasks were
performed on analysis and detection in developed countries like the USA and Europe. According
to the analysis, there was 0.32% detection frequency on acetaminophen, 0.41 %
sulfamethoxazole, and 1.5 % carbamazepine. Several health risks are associated with these
pharmaceutical effluents. The mixture of these active ingredients may lead to acute and chronic
damages, reproduction damage, and inhibition of cell proliferation and change of behavior.
Several studies have found out that when fish is exposed to water that is contaminated by
pharmaceutical wastes exhibit reproduction abnormalities. Furthermore, when fish is exposed to

EFFECTS OF PHARMACEUTICAL WASTES AND CONTAMINANTS ON ECOSYSTEMS 5
effluents containing birth control pills, their range of reproduction decreased significantly
thereby affecting the ecosystem.
Conclusion
Pharmaceutical waste in our environment is understood to have serious implications for the
structure and function of the ecosystems. Given the current rise of pharmaceutical products use
and misuse, it is most likely without significant intervention; our ecosystems will be imbalanced
in the upcoming years. There is a clear need for efforts to be put in place to prevent and deplete
pharmaceutical contaminant to aquatic life. Hundreds of compounds that are used daily in
pharmaceutical companies contain cumulative effects that can endanger aquatic animals such as
fish (Bruce, Pleus and Snyder, 2010). Fixing the issue of pharmaceutical water pollution is not
something that can happen overnight. It needs support from the government, organizations, and
companies up to the community level. Legislations should be put in place to reduce the harmful
effects of effluent from not only pharmaceutical companies but also other production companies.
Water pollution does not only affect the life of a fish but also everyone that drinks that water
including human being. Strictly water treatment regulations and new treatment techniques should
be put in place to solve this issue of water pollution at once. Every factory is supposed to take
responsibility by making their filtration systems more efficient, updating its failing infrastructure
and creating sustainable reuse systems.

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EFFECTS OF PHARMACEUTICAL WASTES AND CONTAMINANTS ON ECOSYSTEMS 7
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