Endocrine disruptors and pharmaceuticals: implications for water sustainability

摘要

The presence of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in the environmentnraises many questions about risk to the environment and risk to human health. Researchers havenattributed adverse ecological effect effects to the presence of these compounds, particularlynEDCs, though there is no consensus on what risk, if any, these compounds pose to humannhealth. The scientific community is in the process of developing a better understanding of thenoccurrence, fate, and transport of pharmaceuticals and EDCs in the environment, including anbetter characterization of human exposure via drinking water. This paper provides a brief reviewnof pharmaceuticals and EDCs in drinking water, as well as uses examples from Lake Mead,nNevada, USA, to highlight the issues associated with their fate and transport. Lastly, the effectsnof natural or anthropogenically driven processes, like natural seasonal flow or climate-nchange/prolonged drought are discussed as they are factors which can drastically alternenvironmental concentrations of these compounds. Without question, the propensity for thencontamination of fresh water will rise as (1) human population continues to grow or (2) patternsnof natural surface water slow and wastewater becomes a larger fraction of flow furthernhighlighting the need for a more comprehensive understanding of their environmental behavior.