Pharmaceuticals in the Environment: Boon or Bane

Title : Pharmaceuticals in the Environment: Boon or Bane

Abstract:

Pharmaceuticals are essential to ensure the high standards of human health and wellbeing. Extensive and uncontrolled usage under different classes such as antibiotics, analgesics, antipyretics, antidepressant, anticonvulsants, beta-blockers, and steroids, etc. pose high environmental and human health hazards when accumulated in the environment and ecosystem. In recent years pharmaceutical ingredient accumulation as emerging pollutants, intermediates and raw materials in the environment has received great attention all over the world due to their frequent detection in aquatic environments as subclasses of organic contaminants. Human health is directly or indirectly affected by pharmaceutical effluents especially in the vicinity of pharmaceutical industrial zones due to greater probability of contamination in areas of proximity including drinking water. Latest epidemiological studies predicted the possibility of relative risks of brain disorders increasing due to paracetamol exposure. The study of potential impacts of the toxicity of pharmaceutical byproducts on environment and human health is a matter of keen concern. Traditional treatment methods of wastewater are not sufficient for the eradication of active pharmaceutical ingredients and their metabolites from aquatic environments; whereas advanced treatment techniques are not sustainable because of energy consumption, high operational cost, efficiency and efficacy. Therefore, the appropriateness for extensive pharmaceutical production and its rational usage must be checked at the source including a shift to the production of better biodegradable pharmaceuticals in the long run for “sustainable pharmacy.”
Audience Take Away Notes:

• An understanding of the accumulation and toxicity associated with the overuse and release of pharmaceuticals in the environment
• Present and future challenges associated with their accumulation in different environmental matrices
• Knowledge of various sources of accumulation of commonly used drugs in environment, their serious post effects on health and remediation techniques
• Further research areas and treatment techniques for a safe and healthy environment and can work for developing sustainable and green environment
• As a career option for future research and teaching, both

Biography:

Dr. Neha Agarwal is currently serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Navyug Kanya Mahavidyalaya, affiliated with the University of Lucknow, Lucknow, India. She holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Lucknow and has successfully qualified the prestigious national-level examinations UGC-CSIR-NET and GATE in Chemical Sciences. Dr. Agarwal has made significant contributions to scientific research, with numerous research papers and review articles published in reputed Scopus-indexed international journals. An active innovator, she has published seven design patents and has contributed extensively to academic publishing. She has edited several scholarly books for renowned international publishers, including CRC Press, Springer Nature, Nova Science Publishers, Apple Academic Press, and Bentham Science Publishers. She is also the author of three undergraduate textbooks aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) curriculum.

Her research interests focus on environmental chemistry, nanotechnology, wastewater treatment, green synthesis, and sustainable chemistry, with particular emphasis on the environmental fate and remediation of organic pollutants such as pharmaceuticals, dyes, and pesticides through eco-friendly and sustainable approaches. Dr. Agarwal is an active member of the global scientific community and holds professional and lifetime memberships in several prestigious organizations, including the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (SNIC), International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), and the Association of Chemistry Teachers (ACT), India. She also serves as a reviewer and editorial board member for several reputed international journals and publishers. In recognition of her outstanding contributions to research, higher education, academic leadership, and scientific innovation, Dr. Agarwal has received numerous awards. Among her most prestigious honors is the Teacher Excellence Award, conferred by the Hon'ble Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Smt. Anandiben Patel, during the 69th Convocation of the University of Lucknow, acknowledging her exceptional contributions to teaching, research, and academic excellence.