The grey water footprint of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals.

ABSTRACT: Water pollution by pharmaceuticals is widespread, causing both environmental and human health risks. We assess pharmaceutical water pollution from human and veterinary pharmaceuticals at three geographical levels: global, national (considering Germany and the Netherlands) and catchment level (with a case study for the Vecht catchment shared by Germany and the Netherlands). The grey water footprint (GWF), a measure of water pollution in volumetric terms, is estimated from pharmaceutical loads entering the aquatic environment, considering different pollutant sources and pathways. We study different substances depending on data availability, which varies across geographical levels. Results show a global per capita GWF of 1900 m3 yr-1 resulting from human consumption of ciprofloxacin. The larg

SUBMITTER: Wohler L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7242788 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature