By improper disposal and the excretion of medicines, pharmaceutical residues are released into the water. Even most advanced treatment technologies cannot completely eliminate all chemical compounds. Via the run-off from the treatment plants they are getting into rivers, lakes, and streams and thus remain within the water cycle. “Although, according to current knowledge there is no acute danger for human beings, flora and fauna are verifiably affected. We know about kidney damages of fishes and the feminization of male rainbow trouts”, says Martina Winter, head of ISOE’s research unit ‘Water infrastructure and risk analyses’.
It is therefore understandable says Winker if consumers in Germany don’t want to find such substances in their drinking water. Those responsible within the water sector also realize the need for action. „Nevertheless responsibility and solutions cannot solely lie with the disposal companies." says Winker. The focus should rather be on prevention and precaution. „Because particularly where problems arise – in the context of drug development and consumption – the environmental issues have so far been hardly taken into consideration.
Combining upgrades of wastewater treatment plants and preventive measures
Within several research projects, ISOE has developed effective strategies to combine preventive measures. Among them are guidelines for drug innovation, drug application and the handling of emissions in wastewater management. “It became clear that the problem awareness regarding water protection is not yet sufficiently developed among the population as well as among the multipliers within the health sector.” Winker observes. But this also shows how much potential there is for the prevention and reduction of pharmaceutical discharges into the aquatic envi-ronment for example by target group specific information.
In a survey among doctors and nursing staff that was done by the project consortium SAUBER+ more than a quarter of the persons interviewed stated to have no knowledge at all about the environmental impacts of the medicines they prescribe or administer. In order to reduce or avoid pharmaceutical discharges into the aquatic environment sensitization and knowledge transfer are thus of great importance. “Because without problem awareness regarding water protection, alternative therapeutic options will a priori not be taken into consideration“, says Winker.
Starting early in the chain of effects in order to avoid environmental problems
Therefore, the water expert recommends a solution approach that combines already tried measures concerning behavioral changes regarding the intake and disposal of medicines and the further development of treatment stages in wastewater treatment plants. “This cost and energy intensive upgrade of treatment plants in Germany can only be successful as part of a holistic approach”, says Winker. Consumers and key actors from the pharmaceutical industry and the health sector have to be strategically included. It is important to get involved at an early stage of the chain of effects, if possible starting with the development of environmentally friendly pharmaceuticals.
„We have observed that different measures have varying effects on the individual substances”, says Winker. “So there is not just one single measure that solves the problem of pharmaceutical residues in water bodies”. Therefore, it is important to follow an approach that combines envi-ronmental engineering and public health related measures and thus specifically reduces or, better still, prevents the entry of chemicals into the environment altogether.
ISOE-publications on the impact assessment of the reduction of pharmaceutical entries into water bodies
In the project SAUBER+ ISOE investigated three fields of action („environmental engineering measures“, „public health related measures”, and “innovative approaches for the development of pharmaceuticals”) with regard to their impact for a reduction of pharmaceutical entries into water bodies. The social-ecological impact assessment done with the help of Bayesian networks was published in the magazine “Total Science of the Environment”.
Overview of ISOE projects dealing with the development of sustainable strategies against pharmaceutical residues in the water cycle
- SAUBER+ Innovative concepts for wastewater from public health facilities
- TransRisk – Pollutants as a risk to the water cycle
- DSADS – Tracking down micropollutants
- Drugs for man and the environment?
- Pharmas – Risk assessment of drugs in the environment
- Eliminating trace elements in sewage plants
- Communication strategies for the handling of pharmaceuticals
- start – Management strategies for pharmaceuticals in drinking water