Pollution of rivers with pharmaceuticals is increasing in the world. The University of York in the UK produced a report showing that acetaminophen, nicotine, caffeine, and drugs for epilepsy and diabetes were most commonly found in freshwater.
British scientists studied the condition of the rivers. It's not good
Published Feb. 15, 2022 11:29
Fot. Getty Images/iStockphoto
The survey is so far the most widely carried out in the world. It analyzed water samples from more than 1,000 test sites in more than 100 countries. The rivers in Pakistan, Bolivia and Ethiopia are the most polluted. Rivers in Iceland, Norway and the Amazon rainforest have the best condition.
More than a quarter of the 258 rivers sampled contained so-called active pharmaceutical ingredients at levels considered unsafe for aquatic organisms. "Even the most modern wastewater treatment plants are not fully capable of degrading these compounds before they end up in rivers or lakes," said Dr. John Wilkinson, who led the study. The two most commonly found pharmaceuticals are carbamazepine, used to treat epilepsy and neuralgia, and metformin, used to treat diabetes. High concentrations of caffeine and nicotine as well as paracetamol were also detected in the rivers. In Africa, artemisinin, which is used in antimalarial medicine, has also been found in high concentrations. "We can say that [the impact of such pharmaceuticals in rivers] is likely to be negative, but individual tests have to be done on each and there is relatively little research," says Dr. Veronica Edmonds-Brown, an aquatic ecologist at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK.
The report found that the increased presence of antibiotics in rivers can also lead to the development of resistant bacteria, destroying the effectiveness of drugs and ultimately posing a global threat to the environment and global health.
The most polluted sites were mainly in low- and middle-income countries and in areas with wastewater discharges, poor wastewater management and pharmaceutical production. Dr. Mohamed Abdallah of the University of Birmingham says this is all the more worrying given that it affects the fewest-access populations. "One of the few things that can be influenced is the correct use of drugs," he added. This would make it harder to get drugs such as antibiotics and more restrictive dose restrictions.
The complete report has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Source: BBC
