Poluição por resíduos contendo compostos farmaceuticamente ativos: aspectos ambientais, geração a partir dos esgotos domésticos e a situação do Brasil.

The proper treatment and disposal of sewage are a universal concern, according to their recognized potential pollutant. In general, many treatment systems aim to remediate physical and chemical parameters that are part of the legislation. In recent years, however, another type of pollution has been evidenced involving micropollutants able to cause deleterious effects in concentrations of the order of mg L-1 and ng L-1. In this context the pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs), which, conveyed by sewage, contaminate virtually all environmental compartments are highlighted. The study of advanced wastewater treatment, with the goal of enhancing the removal of PhACs has been conducted mainly in developed countries. In Brazil, the main focus of wastewater treatment is still facing the basic treatment, since access to this service is not accessible to the entire population, which makes pollution from micropollutants a secondary problem. In this scenario are discussed antecedents related to the consumption of pharmaceuticals, their presence in the sewage, the usual low removal capacity presented by the conventional treatment systems and, therefore, its relationship with the contamination of the water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]