Mitigation Strategies for Emerging Environmental Contaminants: Pharmaceuticals and Related Personal Care Products
Rupinderjit Kaur and Jaspreet Singh
2025/06/06
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15606800

ABSTRACT
Pharmaceuticals and related personal care products, particularly, are a class of natural and man-made chemicals known as emerging environmental contaminants (EECs) that are being found in aquatic ecosystems more frequently all over the world. These substances, which include hormones, sunscreen agents, parabens, antibiotics, antidepressants, anti-inflammatories, and microplastics, come from a variety of sources, including home trash, municipal wastewater, pharmaceutical company effluents, and agricultural runoff. Because of their persistence, bioactivity, and resistance to standard wastewater treatment techniques, PPCPs pose serious dangers even when they are present in trace amounts, usually in the microgram to nanogram per litre range. Endocrine disruption, antibiotic resistance, bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms, and the environmental sources, destiny, and ecological and human health implications of the major PPCP groups are all categorized and highlighted in this review. The study talks about the problems with regular wastewater treatment plants and looks at new treatment methods that could better remove PPCP, like membrane filtration, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), electrochemical techniques, and constructed wetlands, to reduce the lasting effects of PPCP pollution in order to lessen the long- term effects of PPCP contamination.
AUTHOR AFFILIATIONS
PG Department of Biotechnology, Khalsa College, Amritsar - 143002, Punjab, India
CITATION
Kaur R and Singh J (2025) Mitigation Strategies for Emerging Environmental Contaminants: Pharmaceuticals and Related Personal Care Products. Environmental Science Archives 4(1): 311-323.
REFERENCES
Agunbiade FO and Moodley B (2016) Occurrence and distribution pattern of acidic pharmaceuticals in surface water, wastewater, and sediment of the Msunduzi River, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 35(1): 36–46. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.3144
Ahmad HW, Bibi HA, Chandrasekaran M, Ahmad S and Kyriakopoulos GL (2024) Sustainable Wastewater Treatment Strategies in Effective Abatement of Emerging Pollutants. Water 16(20). https://doi.org/10.3390/w16202893
Batt AL, Kim S and Aga DS (2007) Comparison of the occurrence of antibiotics in four full-scale wastewater treatment plants with varying designs and operations. Chemosphere 68(3): 428–435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2007.01.008
Bhagat J, Singh N and Shimada Y (2024) Southeast Asia’s environmental challenges: emergence of new contaminants and advancements in testing methods. Frontiers in Toxicology 6: 1322386. https://doi.org/10.3389/ftox.2024.1322386
Bhushan S, Rana MS, Raychaudhuri S, Simsek H and Prajapati SK (2020) Algae- and bacteria-driven technologies for pharmaceutical remediation in wastewater. In Removal of Toxic Pollutants through Microbiological and Tertiary Treatment , pp. 373–408. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-821014-7.00015-0
Chen ZF, Ying GG, Liu YS, Zhang QQ, Zhao JL et al. (2014) Triclosan as a surrogate for household biocides: an investigation into biocides in aquatic environments of a highly urbanized region. Water Research 58: 269–279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2014.03.072
Daughton CG and Ternes TA (1999) Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment: agents of subtle change? Environmental Health Perspectives 107(Suppl 6): 907–938. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.99107s6907
Dey S, Bano F and Malik A (2019) Pharmaceuticals and personal care product (PPCP) contamination—A global discharge inventory. In Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products: Waste Management and Treatment Technology , pp. 1–26. Butterworth-Heinemann. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-816189-0.00001-9
Dhillon GS, Kaur S, Pulicharla R, Brar SK, Verma S et al. (2015) Triclosan: current status, occurrence, environmental risks and bioaccumulation potential. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 12(5): 5657–5684. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120505657
Dolliver H and Gupta S (2008) Antibiotic losses in leaching and surface runoff from manure-amended agricultural land. Journal of Environmental Quality 37(3): 1227–1237. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2007.0392
Ebele AJ, Abdallah MAE and Harrad S (2017) Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the freshwater aquatic environment. Emerging Contaminants 3(1): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emcon.2016.12.004
Feng L, van Hullebusch ED, Rodrigo MA, Esposito G and Oturan MA (2013) Removal of residual anti-inflammatory and analgesic pharmaceuticals from aqueous systems by electrochemical advanced oxidation processes: A review. Chemical Engineering Journal 228: 944–964. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2013.05.061
Fitzgerald PJ and Watson BO (2019) In vivo electrophysiological recordings of the effects of antidepressant drugs. Experimental Brain Research 237(7): 1593–1614. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-019-05556-5
Geissen V, Mol H, Klumpp E, Umlauf G, Nadal M, Van Der Ploeg M et al. (2015) Emerging pollutants in the environment: a challenge for water resource management. International Soil and Water Conservation Research 3(1): 57–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2015.03.002
Gojkovic Z, Lindberg RH, Tysklind M and Funk C (2019) Northern green algae have the capacity to remove active pharmaceutical ingredients. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 170: 644–656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2018.12.032
Hollman J, Dominic JA, Achari G, Langford CH and Tay JH (2020) Effect of UV dose on degradation of venlafaxine using UV/H₂O₂: perspective of augmenting UV units in wastewater treatment. Environmental Technology . https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2018.1521475
Jain S, Kumar P, Vyas RK, Pandit P and Dalai AK (2013) Occurrence and removal of antiviral drugs in environment: a review. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 224: 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-012-1410-3
Jukosky JA, Watzin MC and Leiter JC (2008) The effects of environmentally relevant mixtures of estrogens on Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes ) reproduction. Aquatic Toxicology 86(2): 323–331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2007.11.012
Kallenborn R, Brorström-Lundén E, Reiersen LO and Wilson S (2018) Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in Arctic environments: indicator contaminants for assessing local and remote anthropogenic sources in a pristine ecosystem in change. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 25(33): 33001–33013. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9726-6
Kaswan V and Kaur H (2023) A comparative study of advanced oxidation processes for wastewater treatment. Water Practice & Technology 18(5): 1233–1254. https://doi.org/10.2166/wpt.2023.061
Kershaw PJ (2016) Marine plastic debris and microplastics – Global lessons and research to inspire action and guide policy change. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Nairobi.
Kim E, Jung C, Han J, Her N, Park CM, Jang M and Yoon Y (2016) Sorptive removal of selected emerging contaminants using biochar in aqueous solution. Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 36: 364–371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2016.03.004
Kumar M, Jaiswal S, Sodhi KK, Shree P, Singh DK, Agrawal PK and Shukla P (2019) Antibiotics bioremediation: Perspectives on its ecotoxicity and resistance. Environment International 124: 448–461. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2018.12.065
Kumar S, Pratap B, Dubey D, Kumar A, Shukla S and Dutta V (2022) Constructed wetlands for the removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) from wastewater: origin, impacts, treatment methods, and SWOT analysis. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 194(12): 885. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-10540-8
Kümmerer K (2009) The presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment due to human use – present knowledge and future challenges. Journal of Environmental Management 90(8): 2354–2366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.01.023
Li WC (2014) Occurrence, sources, and fate of pharmaceuticals in aquatic environment and soil. Environmental Pollution 187: 193–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2014.01.015
Montes-Grajales D, Fennix-Agudelo M and Miranda-Castro W (2017) Occurrence of personal care products as emerging chemicals of concern in water resources: A review. Science of the Total Environment 595: 601–614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.03.286
Morin-Crini N, Lichtfouse E, Liu G, Balaram V, Ribeiro et al. (2022) Worldwide cases of water pollution by emerging contaminants: A review. Environmental Chemistry Letters 20(4): 2311–2338. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-022-01447-4
Müller J and Lippert B (eds.) (2023) Modern Avenues in Metal-Nucleic Acid Chemistry. CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003270201
Murray KE, Thomas SM and Bodour AA (2010) Prioritizing research for trace pollutants and emerging contaminants in the freshwater environment. Environmental Pollution 158(12): 3462–3471. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2010.08.009
Pironti C, Ricciardi M, Proto A, Bianco PM, Montano L and Motta O (2021) Endocrine-disrupting compounds: An overview on their occurrence in the aquatic environment and human exposure. Water 13(10): 1347. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13101347
Ramos S, Homem V, Alves A and Santos L (2016) A review of organic UV-filters in wastewater treatment plants. Environment International 86: 24–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2015.10.004
Sodhi KK, Kumar M, Balan B, Dhaulaniya AS, Shree P, Sharma N and Singh DK (2021) Perspectives on the antibiotic contamination, resistance, metabolomics, and systemic remediation. SN Applied Sciences 3: 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-020-04003-3
Tiwari B, Sellamuthu B, Ouarda Y, Drogui P, Tyagi RD and Buelna G (2017) Review on fate and mechanism of removal of pharmaceutical pollutants from wastewater using biological approach. Bioresource Technology 224: 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2016.11.042
Tyumina EA, Bazhutin GA, Cartagena Gómez ND and Ivshina IB (2020) Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as emerging contaminants. Microbiology 89: 148–163. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0026261720020125
Vannini C, Domingo G, Marsoni M, De Mattia F, Labra M, Castiglioni S and Bracale M (2011) Effects of a complex mixture of therapeutic drugs on unicellular algae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata . Aquatic Toxicology 101(2): 459–465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2010.10.011
Wallace VJ, Sakowski EG, Preheim SP and Prasse C (2023) Bacteria exposed to antiviral drugs develop antibiotic cross-resistance and unique resistance profiles. Communications Biology 6(1): 837. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-05177-3
Wee SY, Aris AZ, Yusoff FM and Praveena SM (2019) Occurrence and risk assessment of multiclass endocrine disrupting compounds in an urban tropical river and a proposed risk management and monitoring framework. Science of the Total Environment 671: 431–442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.243
Yi M, Sheng Q, Sui Q and Lu H (2020) β-blockers in the environment: Distribution, transformation, and ecotoxicity. Environmental Pollution 266: 115269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115269
Yueh MF and Tukey RH (2016) Triclosan: A widespread environmental toxicant with many biological effects. Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology 56: 251–272. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-pharmtox-010715-103417
Zhang X, Kamali M, Yu X, Costa MEV, Appels L, Cabooter D and Dewil R (2022) Kinetics and mechanisms of the carbamazepine degradation in aqueous media using novel iodate-assisted photochemical and photocatalytic systems. Science of the Total Environment 825: 153871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153871
Ziylan-Yavas A, Santos D, Flores EMM, Ince NH (2022) Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs): Environmental and public health risks. Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy 41(4): e13821. https://doi.org/10.1002/ep.13821
Zolfaghari S, Hashemi SS, Karimi K and Sadeghi M (2022) Valorization of cheese whey to eco-friendly food packaging and biomethane via a biorefinery. Journal of Cleaner Production 366: 132870. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132870

License: Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. Visit for more details http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.