Pharmaceuticals in soil and groundwater: Analytical methods, sources, and mitigation techniques

Pharmaceuticals have long been used to treat diseases in humans and animals and to control pests of plants/crops. However, with the identification of these contaminants in the environment, it is of major concern. While they have been documented either in soil or groundwater as separate entities, there are limited investigations on their sources. Also, identification methods and mitigation techniques of these contaminants in soils and groundwater are not well understood. Herein, studies on soil and groundwater pharmaceuticals from 2011 to 2025 were selected from PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science and reviewed to gain a holistic understanding of soil and groundwater pharmaceutical sources, mitigation and analysis approach. It was observed that in order to analyze pharmaceuticals in soil and groundwater, representative soil samples (1-5 g) and groundwater samples (20-40 mL) should be collected, kept in glass containers, pretreated (e.g., sodium azide), and extracted (e.g., methanol and acetone), centrifuged at 3000-10,000 rpm, and analyzed with advanced methods (e.g., LC-MS). The primary sources of beta (β)-blockers, psychiatric pharmaceuticals, and analgesics in soil were found to be irrigation, wastewater effluent, manure and poultry litter, and untreated wastewater discharge. Plastics, industrial emissions, and the use of pesticides to manage agricultural pests are the primary sources of hormones and endocrine disruptors in soils. Wastewater, irrigation, sewage, plastic pipes, and landfills are the primary sources of analgesics, β-blockers, antibiotics, and hormones and endocrine disruptors in groundwater. Pharmaceuticals in soil and groundwater can be remediated by both in situ and ex situ methods such as adsorption, quick and slow filtering, phytoremediation, and bioremediation.