Study re-opens debate about pharma chemicals in wastewater
pharmafile | June 10, 2010 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |Â Â manufacturing, manufacturing complianceÂ
Wastewater from pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities is a major source of drug compounds in the environment, according to a new study conducted by scientists at the US Geological Survey.
The findings suggest that manufacturing plants have a greater role to play in pharmaceuticals reaching surface water than previously thought.
For some time industry has argued that the bulk of pharmaceutical compounds found in the environment derive from excreted metabolites in human waste or from improper disposal of unused medicines.
The scientists looked at the outflow from two water treatment plants that receive more than 20% of their wastewater from pharmaceutical facilities, and compared them to outflow from 24 plants across the US which do not received pharmaceutical wastewater over a five-year period.
They found concentrations of pharmaceuticals up to 1,000 times higher in the two test outflows compared to the control plants, with measurable concentrations of drugs as far as 20 miles downstream.
“This is the first study in the US to identify pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities as a significant source of pharmaceuticals to the environment,” said Matthew Larsen, USGS’ associate director for water.
He added that the USGS is now working with water utility firms to try to identify alternative water treatment technologies that can reduce the release of “pharmaceuticals and other emerging contaminants” into the environment.
The contaminant encountered at the highest concentration was metaxolone, a muscle relaxant which was observed at levels of 3,800 parts per billion (ppb), followed by the painkiller oxycodone at 1,700 ppb.
Other drugs found at concentrations ranging from 4 to 400 ppb included the opioid methadone, the barbiturate butalbital, anti-obesity drug phendimetrazine, another muscle relaxant called carisoprodol and anxiety drug diazepam.
In contrast, they found that outflow from the treatment plants that did not receive wastewater from pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities had concentrations that rarely exceeded one ppb.
“Although public records were not available for all pharmaceuticals formulated at these sites, available data indicate that these seven pharmaceuticals are manufactured at one or both of the New York facilities involved in the study,” said the researchers, whose work is published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.
Meanwhile, last month the National Water Research Institute published a study of three major drinking water resources in Southern California which found trace (ng/l) levels of a number of pharmaceutical compounds – including antibiotics, anticonvulsants and hormones.
They concluded that there was no evidence that humans would be harmed by consuming the contaminants, known as ‘constituents of emerging concern’ (CEC).
“Current research indicates that individuals could consume 50,000 eight-ounce glasses of water per day without any experiencing any health effects due to trace levels of CECs,” according to the NWRI researchers.
At present there are no federal testing requirements or safety standards for pharmaceuticals in water, although drugmakers must evaluate the potential impact of their production on the environment and comply with environmental regulations.
A number of US states have started collection schemes for unused medicines in a bid to reduce the contamination problem.
Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical industry says it has been working on a number of projects to try to reduce the discharge of chemicals in wastewater, including greener chemical synthesis processes and new water treatment techniques, but concedes it is near-impossible to remove all contaminants.
Industry group the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has developed tools to help address the issue, including the PhATE model which can be used to estimate the concentration and distribution of active pharmaceutical ingredients discharged into surface waters as a result of the use of medicines.
The industry has also developed the PhACT database, which contains data on the impact of pharmaceutical compounds on aquatic life gleaned from peer reviewed scientific literature.
Phil Taylor
Related Content
CARBOGEN AMCIS manufacturing license advances services in China
Swiss pharma manufacturing company, CARBOGEN AMCIS, has announced that its facility in Shanghai, China, has …
Meribel Pharma Solutions launches to take pharma services to new heights
Meribel Pharma Solutions, a new mid-sized contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), has officially launched …
Bend Bioscience adds commercial spray drying facility to Georgia site
Bend Bioscience has announced the addition of a commercial-scale spray dryer and a Gerteis dry …
