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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Identification of Pharmaceuticals in The Aquatic Environment Using HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS and Elimination of Erythromycin Through Photo-Induced Degradation

Identification of Pharmaceuticals in The Aquatic Environment Using HPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS and Elimination of Erythromycin Through Photo-Induced Degradation

Published on: August 1, 2018

Risks to aquatic organisms posed by human pharmaceutical use.

Mitchell S Kostich¹, James M Lazorchak

¹Ecological Exposure Research Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA. kostich.mitchell@epa.gov

The Science of the Total Environment

|October 16, 2007

Summary

Human prescription pharmaceutical residues in wastewater pose a low risk to healthy adults. However, some antibacterial active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) may promote antimicrobial resistance in aquatic environments.

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Area of Science:

Environmental Chemistry
Pharmacology
Ecotoxicology

Background:

Wastewater contains residues of human prescription pharmaceuticals.
Understanding the risks of these residues is crucial for prioritizing research.

Purpose of the Study:

To estimate risks from human prescription pharmaceutical residues in wastewater.
To inform future research priorities in the US.

Main Methods:

Estimated masses of 371 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) dispensed in the US in 2004.
Normalized API masses by therapeutic dose rate for potency.
Assessed metabolic inactivation and active metabolites for the 50 most dispensed APIs.

Main Results:

Low threat to healthy human adults from aquatic exposure to APIs, even considering mixture effects.
Some APIs may affect organisms with inefficient elimination due to predicted wastewater concentrations.
Antibacterial APIs in wastewater may select for antimicrobial resistance, unlike antifungal APIs.

Conclusions:

Risks to human health from pharmaceutical residues in wastewater are generally low.
Potential for antimicrobial resistance selection by antibacterial APIs exists.
Wider ecological impacts are possible, affecting various eukaryotic and prokaryotic clades.