Many people
are unaware that a new health and environmental concern has emerged
among scientists around the world - pharmaceuticals and personal care
products (PPCPs) in the environment. Until recently, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies have been primarily concerned
with monitoring and regulating a relatively small number of so-called
priority pollutants in our nation's air, water, and soil. However,
the greatly escalating use of prescription drugs and a bewildering
variety of personal care products has resulted in the manufacture
of literally tens of thousands of new and complex chemicals that enter
the environment in large quantities, especially in our wastewater
and sewage treatment plants.
LIFE DOWN THE DRAIN - is
a special report by students who took an online course in Conservation
Biology (Natrs 450/550) through WSU's Distance Degree Program (DDP)
during fall semester, 2003. These seniors and graduate students
each completed an independent study of the issue of PPCPs in the environment
and prepared short written reports of their findings, which are the
basis for this special report.
To begin their analysis, students
read a provocative account of the potential effects of PPCPs in a
chapter, The Environmental Impacts of Technological Medicine, from
the book, The Lost Language of Plants - The Ecological Importance
of Plant Medicines to Life on Earth, by Stephen H. Buhner, 2002, Chelsea
Green Publishing.
To supplement this writing intended for a popular
audience, students conducted their own independent review of the subject
by reading peer-reviewed scientific journal papers and reports
by the EPA and other scientific sources. Several representative
student papers are presented at the end of this special report by
the Campus & Community Ecology Project.
What Are PPCPs?
Pharmaceuticals
are basically commercial drugs and medicines that are taken to treat
illness, disease, and medical conditions in both humans and animals.
Pharmaceuticals include antidepressants, tranquilizers, psychiatric
drugs, cancer (chemotherapy) drugs, pain killers, anti-inflammatories,
antihypertensives (e.g., blood pressure medications), antiseptics,
lipid regulators (e.g., cholesterol medication), oral contraceptives,
synthetic hormones, antibiotics, drugs for enhancing sexual performance
(e.g., Viagra, Levitra) and many other classes and types of drugs.
Personal
care products include a wide variety of compounds, such as perfumes,
musks, shampoos, deodorants, hair dyes, oral hygiene products, hair
sprays, make up, nail polish, sun screens, body lotions, lipsticks,
and cremes.
PPCPs in the Environment
Pharmaceuticals and
personal care products are excreted as human or animal waste or are
rinsed from our bodies and washed down drains and sewer systems to
be released into the environment in staggering quantities around
the world.
Many pharmaceuticals and personal care products have
persistent chemicals and compounds that remain biologically active
after they leave the body or are disposed in landfills and waters.
Hospitals, doctors offices, veterinary clinics, farms, ranches, and
average homes are continual sources of PCPPs. We all contribute
to putting PPCPs in the environment.
Environmental Effects
PPCPs
are of concern for potential ecological and environmental impacts
because they may be active at extremely low concentrations, are widespread
and continuously released in large quantities, have unpredictable
biochemical interactions when mixed, and at times may concentrate
in the food chain and especially affect aquatic organisms.
Some
of the known potential impacts on organisms include delayed development
in fish, delayed metamorphosis in frogs, and a variety of reactions
including altered behavior and reproduction. Researchers at
several universities have recently discovered that a group of antidepressants,
including drugs like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Celexa may
be found in frogs and fish and significantly slow their development.
Estrogen in the Environment
Synthetic
estrogen hormones are taken by many women for birth control and hormonal
replacement therapies and are sometimes taken by men for treatment
of prostate cancer. Both natural and synthetic estrogens enter
sewage treatment plants in large quantities, as well as chemicals
from degradation of surfactants and plasticizers that mimic estrogens.
Increased
feminization of fish populations (e.g., inter-sex, hermaphroditic
fish - males with eggs; high proportion of females to males) has been
observed in several fish populations exposed to waste water containing
estrogens (e.g., Excreted Drugs: Something Looks Fishy).
Implications
for WSU
The many human health and environmental issues surrounding
PPCPs affect WSU and our surrounding communities as they do every
other city and community - and the entire world. Some of these
implications for WSU include the need for better understanding
of the:
- Fate of pharmaceuticals and animal waste products on campuses
and farms
- Fate of PPCPs and other chemicals in composting
operations
- Effectiveness of existing community sewage and water treatment
plants
- Proposed use of recycled waste water in Pullman, WA, and the
WSU campus
- Potential changes in the creation and processing
of waste products to reduce PPCPs
Next Steps for WSU?
This
initial Campus & Community Ecology report, prompted by WSU students,
is only the first small step to raise greater awareness
of the issue of PPCPs in the environment and ultimately help
WSU campuses and communities decide what future management
actions may be appropriate. The next step will be to
gather additional background and technical information and report
back to the WSU community.
We will do so by contactingWSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, Business Affairs - Materials
and Resources Management, Center for Integrated Biotechnology, Center
for Multiphase Environmental Research, Center for Reproductive Biology,
Environmental Health and Safety, School of Molecular Biosciences,
and other programs to talk to individuals who
may be conducting research related to PPCPs and learn how WSU campuses
handle pharmaceuticals and waste products of treated and confined
animals.
WSU Research Opportunities
There are many opportunities
for WSU to make a positive scientific contribution to the pressing
issue of PPCPs through our many research programs in biotechnology,
ecology, environmental engineering, human and environmental health,
environmental science, and veterinary science. Some of the potential
first-step solutions may involve additional water treatment technology,
designated composting of contaminated wastes, as well as improved
waste reduction and handling at the source. This issue is a
prime example of the need for the "
Biotechnology in the Environment"
initiative proposed by WSU faculty (see:
Reports).
LIFE DOWN
THE DRAIN: The WSU Student Perspective
The following student
reports are representative of the reviews and conclusions that were
reached by WSU students from a variety of majors completing a
short writing assignment on PPCPs in the environment:
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