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Published on: May 15, 2017
Environmental risk assessment of ivermectin: A case study
Markus Liebig1, Alvaro Alonso Fernandez, Elke Blübaum-Gronau
1ECT Oekotoxikologie GmbH, Böttgerstrasse 2-14, D-65439 Flörsheim/Main, Germany. m-liebig@ect.de
Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management
|September 8, 2010
Summary
The environmental risk assessment (ERA) of ivermectin revealed significant risks in surface water, sediment, and dung, necessitating a reassessment of veterinary pharmaceutical products. Current guidelines require updates for accurate pharmaceutical risk evaluation.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Ecotoxicology
- Veterinary Pharmacology
Background:
- Ivermectin, a veterinary parasiticide, was evaluated within the ERAPharm project.
- Previous environmental risk assessments (ERAs) for ivermectin indicated no aquatic concerns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a comprehensive environmental risk assessment (ERA) for ivermectin.
- To identify risks in various environmental compartments and suggest guideline improvements.
Main Methods:
- Utilized experimental data from ERAPharm and literature.
- Applied international and European guidelines for tiered risk assessment.
- Incorporated additional 2-species and multispecies effects data.
Main Results:
- Risk indicated for surface water, sediment, and dung at all assessment tiers.
- Risk also identified for collembolans (soil invertebrates) with higher-tier data.
- Initial ERAs underestimated soil concentrations and failed to identify risks in certain compartments.
Conclusions:
- The current ERA demonstrates unacceptable risks for ivermectin across all investigated environmental compartments.
- Existing pharmaceutical ERA guidelines have gaps, particularly regarding action limits, exposure assessment for soil-accumulating substances, and dung compartment effects.
- Reassessment of ivermectin products and guideline improvements are urgently needed.
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