Abstract

PHARMACEUTICAL POLLUTION: IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND MANAGEMENT

Siddhant Anand Sawant*, Ummesalma Riyaz Patankar, Aakanksha Sunil Kasale and Sukanya Sunil Tawade

.

Abstract

Recently, pharmaceuticals were thought to reach the environment primarily through usage or inappropriate disposal. Certain production facilities were found to be sources of much higher environmental concentrations than those caused by the usage of drugs. Widespread detection of waste pharmaceuticals in environmental samples and the risks associated with their introduction into wildlife habitats is becoming an important issue for both regulators and the pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical companies should see that it is in their own interest to minimize drug use and pollution of the environment, since avoiding the spread of resistance will keep their medicines effective longer. Possible ways to stimulate action include changes in local and international regulations, including the implementation of appropriate environmental standards within existing industry guidelines as well as demands from prescribers and consumers of medicines. The lack of readily available information regarding the origin of drugs and the environmental impact of the production, however, prevents consumers from making informed decisions. We propose that increased transparency throughout the production chain would be one of several important steps for reducing pollution from the manufacturing of drugs.

Keywords: Pollution, Environmental hazards, Health effects, Pharmaceutical industries, Indian government.