How do drugs pollut nature?

Modern medicine is one of the most important tools that extend human life and improve life quality. However, there is an environmental price of this progress: the drug remains increasingly accumulate in more water sources. These chemicals detected in rivers, lakes and underground waters indicate the type of pollution that does not appear.

[What is the drug from the body?]
] When a drug is taken, the story does not actually end there. The human body cannot break all of these drugs. The remaining active components are mixed into waste water systems. The problem is that the large part of the existing waste water treatment plants is not designed to completely clean these complex chemicals. Therefore, drug residues can reach direct water ecosystems through treatment processes. An important part of the components of approximately 4 thousand active pharmaceuticals (related to science) used in the world has become traceable in the environment. According to the United Nations, 631 different drug residues were detected in 71 countries. [

The sources of liver not only patients
The drug pollution does not appear only after use. There are multiple sources of the problem:[
Home Loss on the sink or toilet of unused drugs
] Home Disinfected drugs thrown into the ground with domestic waste
Home Wastes caused by pharmaceutical production facilities[
Home Antibiotic and hormones used in agriculture and livestock
Home Especially in areas near pharmaceutical production centers, chemical density in water sources is much higher.

Small quantities even create serious effect
]Drug residues are usually very low density. But these substances can create serious effects even in small quantities because they are biologically active. One of the most striking examples is the effect that synthetic hormones used in birth control pills create in fish. These substances can lead to femaleing of male fish and disrupt reproductive systems. Another dramatic example was in South Asia. A painful drug used in animals, caused by the death of leached adolescents from kidney failure, and the population of some species decreased more than 95 percent.
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Risk of antibiotic resistance
One of the most critical results of drug pollution is antibiotic resistance. When antibiotic residues are mixed into water systems, bacteria can develop resistance in these environments. This can lead to the emergence of pathogens, which are called “super bacteria” over time and do not respond to existing therapies. This risk is not only environmental, but also a global public health problem.

Do there risk for people?]
] Drug residues in drinking water are often considered to have a direct health risk because they are very low levels. However, scientists emphasize that the effects of exposure to these chemicals in long-term and mixture are not yet fully known. [email protected]
An unmatched but growing crisis
A multi-layer problem, which is not possible to solve the drug pollution from one point. Therefore, the solution also has to progress in multiple areas:
Home Advanced treatment technologies: Active carbon, ozone and advanced oxidation methods.
Home More stringent regulations: inclusion of environmental impacts of drugs into the licensed processes.
Home Accurate use and waste management: The drug does not spill into the sink, re-picking systems.
Home Green Pharmaceuticals: Developing faster shredded drugs in nature.
Home Biological solutions: Separation of pollutants with bacteria and algae.

Drugs have been developed to protect human health. But today the effects of these chemicals on nature bring a new question: How much risk we take on the planet while maintaining our health? Water systems create a vital balance for human life and ecosystems. Protecting this balance is not only environmental policies, but also the responsibility of health systems.

Source: Earth.org