Review on Occurrence and Toxicity of Pharmaceutical Contamination in Southeast Asia

Abstract

The manufacture and use of pharmaceuticals for human and veterinary use is on the rise in Southeast Asian countries. Thus, the discharge from wastewater treatment plants may contain pharmaceuticals across a wide range of drug classes. Various regions in Southeast Asia are characterized by species richness, presence of threatened species and diversity of endemic species. The rapidly growing economy, aquaculture and livestock industries, increased incidence of infectious diseases, and change in lifestyle may adversely affect these biodiversity hotspots due to increased release of pharmaceuticals. This review focuses on use and occurrence of five commonly used pharmaceutics, i.e., atenolol, carbamazepine, diclofenac, sulfamethoxazole, and 17 α-ethinylestradiol in the influent and effluent of wastewater treatment plants and in various aquatic environments, i.e., surface water, groundwater, marine environment and sediments. Threats posed by these pharmaceuticals are evident from a discussion on their adverse effects on various freshwater species. Species sensitivity distribution (SSD) constructed for each of the pharmaceuticals using reproductive toxicity data for universal biomarker species reported in the literature, reveal the community level toxic effects of these pharmaceuticals in the aquatic ecosystem. Based on SSD and occurrence data, 17 α-ethinylestradiol poses the highest risk, while atenolol and carbamazepine poses negligible risk on reproductive toxicity/reproductive failure at the concentrations currently prevailing in the aquatic environment. The high risk posed by 17 α-ethinylestradiol is due to its ability to cause reproductive failure and/or vitellogenin induction at concentrations of the order of ng/L.