Title : Medicine waste pollution: A Brazilian view about pharmacopollution and public health
Abstract:
Pharmacopollution is a public health and environmental outcome of some active pharmaceutical ingredients(API) and endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDC) dispersed through water and/or soil. Its most important sources are the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare facilities (e.g., hospitals), livestock, aquaculture, and households (patient excretion and littering). The last source is the focus of this presentation. Household Waste Medicine is part of the emerging contaminants, such as steroid hormones, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP), industrial chemicals, and pesticides. The Brazilian HWM case is remarkable because it is the fourth pharmaceutical market (US$ 65,971 billion), with a wide number of private pharmacies and drugstores (3.3:10,000 pharmacy/inhabitants), self-medication habits. The HWM generation is estimated in 56.6 g/per capita, or 10,800 t/year. National take-back programs were recently implemented.
