CURRENT ASPECTS CONCERNING QUANTIFICATION OF PHARMACEUTICAL WASTE FROM WATER SOURCES.

As a result of increasing water consumption by pharmaceutical industries, hospitals, and the population, large volumes of liquids discharges containing pharmaceutical compounds have been generated worldwide. Even though there is a consistent contribution on the sustainable management of these contaminants, the efforts to reduce this pollution are progressing on a rather small scale. Such pollutants can be introduced into water-receiving bodies either directly, through animal and human excretions, or through unregulated disposal and anthropogenic activities, resulting in their presence in small amounts in aqueous systems. Even if they are in small amounts these classes of contaminants are persistent or partially degraded during treatment processes and thus may cause adverse effects on human and animal health as a result of bioaccumulation. This paper summarizes the main aspects referring to quantification of pharmaceutical waste from both drinkable and industrial waters in order to provide efficient solutions to counteract their negative impact on environment and human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]