Pharmaceutical contamination, as a research topic, concerns the presence and behavior of active pharmaceutical ingredients, metabolites, and excipients in environmental or biological matrices where they are unintended. It encompasses sources such as human and veterinary excretion, improper disposal, manufacturing discharges, and hospital effluents, and addresses fate processes including sorption, transformation, and bioaccumulation. Studies focus on occurrence at trace to ultra-trace concentrations, mixture effects, and modes of action that may induce ecotoxicological or sublethal impacts, including endocrine disruption and antimicrobial resistance selection. The topic also covers analytical detection methods, environmental risk assessment frameworks, and mitigation strategies like advanced wastewater treatment and source-control policies.
A new paper in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry finds that common medications used for flea and tick control in dogs and cats may pose a significant environmental risk for insects in the wild.
Ecology
Jan 14, 2026
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29
The discharge and prevalence of psychoactive drugs in surface waters has raised concerns about potential risks to ecosystems and public health. Yet there is limited information on the ecotoxicity of these compounds in marine ...
Ecology
Dec 9, 2025
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20
A new study published in JAMA Network Open highlights the significant environmental footprint of medical imaging contrast agents, finding that Medicare patients alone received 13.5 billion milliliters of contrast media between ...
Environment
Dec 8, 2025
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20
A comprehensive study by the CritMET research group, led by Prof. Michael Bau, a geochemist at Constructor University in Bremen, provides evidence of widespread contamination of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea with MRI contrast ...
Environment
Nov 26, 2025
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312
Raw cow and sheep milk is frequently contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria that could pose a threat to human and animal health, reports a new study led by Tahir Usman of Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Pakistan, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 12, 2025
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30
A comprehensive Hungarian study has revealed that the behavior of pharmaceutical residues in soil does not depend on a single factor, but is shaped by several interacting processes. The researchers emphasized that, based ...
Environment
Nov 6, 2025
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18
The antimicrobial triclosan is widely used in personal hygiene products, textiles and plastics, but when it enters the environment via wastewater, it poses a significant threat to aquatic organisms.
Nanomaterials
Oct 23, 2025
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82
Beta-blockers are widely prescribed pharmaceuticals used to manage cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension, arrhythmias, and post-heart attack recovery. Among them, atenolol (ATL) and metoprolol (MTL) are particularly ...
Environment
Oct 15, 2025
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26
New research has shown, for the first time, how mixtures of commonly used medications that end up in our waterways and natural environments might increase the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 14, 2025
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20
A comprehensive review of scientific literature has identified nanofiltration (NF) membrane technologies as the most effective method for removing pharmaceutical contaminants from water sources, according to researchers from ...
Nanomaterials
Oct 13, 2025
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25
