In matters of health, too, it is important to act in an environmentally conscious way. Patients can help prevent the negative environmental effects of pharmaceuticals. For example, disease prevention, considering non-medicinal treatments, and the responsible use of medicines all contribute to environmental protection.
Residues of human medicinal products for human use enter the environment primarily through wastewater. Pharmaceutical substances are highly biologically active and can have harmful effects on living organisms, particularly in aquatic environments.
Up to date overview of the application of nanocarriers: Research report shows the chemical and structural diversity as well as the wide range of applications of these advanced materials in medicine, plant protection, food and other areas.
Consumer products can be solid objects, liquids, pastes or powders and belong to different product categories. Where do you find information about chemicals in all these products?
In 2016, the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU) launched a stakeholder dialogue to develop the federal government’s Trace Substance Strategy. The goal was to reduce the input of micropollutants into water bodies. In order to consolidate the findings and the measures initiated, the German Centre for Micropollutants was founded at the German Environment Agency in 2021.
Residues of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, biocides and other chemicals can have effects on the environment and human health even in low concentrations. These micropollutants are increasingly being detected in our water bodies, not least thanks to better analytical methods. Recommendations for reducing the input into water bodies are listed.
How do pharmaceuticals get into the environment? Can residues of pharmaceuticals in water and soil harm plants, animals or even human health? What is being done to prevent this, and what can I do? The Federal Environment Agency’s background paper, which is now also available in English, sheds light on these and other questions surrounding the topic of pharmaceuticals in the environment.
The waste water charge could be a viable way to help finance the upgrading of large waste water treatment plants to include a 'fourth treatment stage". A new study has determined that these facilities can reduce micropollutants – pharmaceuticals, for example – which are present in waterbodies.
