Pharmaceutical Pollution 2

Hazard Identification
Pharmaceutical and drug pollution represents environmental contaminants and is
starting to become a higher concern as it has started to pose a major threat to our aquatic
ecosystems and has started to show presence in our drinking waters. Pharmaceutical pollution
is labeled as a type of water pollution and affects the biosphere. The metabolites from
pharmaceuticals enter the marine environment by our wastewaters and can cause harm to
humans and aquatic life. Many of the doses from the prescription drugs and compounds that
are swallowed every year to fight pain, cancer, depression, and other illnesses do not just go
away without harm in their digestive system. A lot of the pollution comes from the drugs that
are excreted through the urine of the person and also their waste. There are no studies that
have shown that this type of pollution has clearly or directly impacted humans but animals are
affected. The main concern for humans is the long-term exposure to the conditions because the
production phase of pharmaceuticals is when they mainly enter the environment. When they
are introduced into the environment, pathogens that harm humans later on can naturally adapt
and adjust to become more resistant to the antibiotics making it harder to treat. Pollution of
this kind can cause possible effects in humans that most of the time go unnoticed and this
includes the possibility to alter behavior or other side effects that may impact the individual’s
nervous system. In the long term, developmental issues may arise as well. Those who live closer
to pharmaceutical production plants are likely to experience more serious contamination of
their food and water. Animals living in the contaminated water, especially fish, and specifically
the males are impacted by chemicals and estrogen causing a feminizing effect on the male fish
and it impacts the ratio between male and female as they are becoming more sexually
disrupted. It is well observed that “when organic matter in wastewater discharged into streams
or lakes is acted upon by bacteria, dissolved oxygen is rapidly depleted, resulting in fish kills and
drastic alterations in the aquatic environment” (Nadakavukaren & Caravanos, 2020, p.429).
Dose Response Assessment
Since the hazard impacts behavioral traits in marine life and many studies show that
the biochemically active pharmaceuticals impact the living organisms, a study shows that it
doesn’t take much to impact the organism. In the study, researchers take a look at the
environmental relevant levels of benzodiazepine, a drug class used to treat anxiety, panic
attacks, depression and how it alters behavioral traits in a common planktivorous fish Rutilus
rutilus. The study mainly focuses on relevant levels and “was to examine behavioral traits in the
fish at concentrations similar to those encountered in effluent surface waters” (Brodin et al.,
2017, p.964). They found that the fish that were “exposed to water with high concentrations
ofoxazepam (280 µg/L) exhibited increased boldness, while fish at low treatment (0.84 µg/L)
became bolder and more active compared to control fish” (Brodin et al., 2017, p.965). They
concluded that the drugs were affecting fish behavior within the natural systems. The study
ultimately found and pointed out that as the dose concentration was higher the fish would
show intrepid behavior. As the dose concentration was lower the fish were more active and it