Pharmaceuticals in the environment: case study of psychiatric drugs

Abstract

The ecotoxicological assessment of pharmaceuticals is discussed in this chapter, under the light of a growing local and international legal framework that is meant to control the environmental impact of an intensive consumption of such molecules, mainly those used in psychiatric conditions. The specific pathways for pharmaceuticals metabolism are evaluated and the resulting accumulation of those medicines in different matrices is presented. Non-target organisms may suffer different effects when exposed to those pharmaceuticals or to their metabolites and the first attempts to quantify this contamination are reviewed.