The Río de la Plata and the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A report has warned of the contamination of the world’s rivers by active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), especially in developing countries. Copyright: Dan DeLuca/Flickr, (CC BY 2.0).

sciendev.net

Speed read

• Pharmaceutical pollution could contribute to antimicrobial resistance and affect human health
• Rivers study finds highest concentrations in Africa, South Asia and South America
• Mismanaged pharma waste puts UN goals on water quality at risk

By: Pablo Corso

Pharmaceutical pollution in the world’s rivers is threatening environmental and human health and the attainment of UN goals on water quality, with developing countries the worst affected, a global study warns.

Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) could be contributing to antimicrobial resistance in microorganisms, and may have unknown long-term effects on human health, as well as harming aquatic life, according to the report published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

APIs – the chemicals used to make pharmaceutical drugs – can reach the natural environment during their manufacture, use and disposal, according to the study.

“Early results suggest that some of the more polluted mixes are extremely toxic to plants and invertebrates.”

Alistair Boxall, Department of Environment and Geography, University of York, UK

Researchers say they monitored 1,052 sampling sites along 258 rivers in 104 countries, representing the “pharmaceutical fingerprint” of 471 million people linked to these areas.

The highest cumulative concentrations of APIs were seen in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and South America, with the most contaminated sites found in low-to-middle income countries where waste water management infrastructure is often poor, the report says.

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