On-Demand Webinars

PHARMACEUTICALS & ANTIBIOTICS: Part 1
Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products:
Occurence, Fate, Transport and Remediation

The Contaminants of Concern series is designed to provide the latest information on important contaminants that the environmental industry deals with. Emerging contaminants are the contaminants of concern of the future. Pharmaceuticals, personal care products (PCP), and antibiotics are an important suite in the emerging contaminants mix. It's estimated that 41 million Americans consume drinking water containing pharmaceuticals.

This webinar provides important background on the kinds of pharmaceuticals and PCP found in groundwater, their occurrence and concentrations in the environment, methods for sampling and analysis, research on factors affecting pharmaceuticals and PCP biodegradation, and a case study of the importance of identifying contamination sources in a karst system as a first step in stopping pharmaceutical and PCP contamination.

Some of the types of drugs found in groundwater include pharmaceuticals (human and animal prescription and over-the-counter drugs), illicit drugs , and PCP such as DEET, Triclosan (antibacterial, antifungal ingredient), shampoos, etc. Many common drugs, such as antibiotics, musk fragrances, antihistamines, and antiepileptic drugs are hard to biodegrade.

This webinar examines how pharmaceuticals and PCP enter into the environment, commonly as waste disposed in sewers, septic systems, and landfills. Most septic systems and waste water treatment plants are not equipped to handle pharmaceuticals and personal care products resulting in discharge to groundwater, local rivers and lakes, etc. This webinar looks at the concentrations at which pharmaceuticals and PCP are found in groundwater and surface water, and discusses the effects pharmaceuticals and PCP may have on non-target organisms even at trace concentrations.

Dealing with pharmaceuticals and PCP in the environment relies on appropriate sampling and analysis, and this webinar discusses appropriate methods.

The webinar concludes with a case study of the karst groundwater system in the Yucatan which shows the importance of identifying contaminant sources in the system as a first step in stopping pharmaceutical and PCP contamination.