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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Pharmaceutical and Recreational Drug Usage Patterns during and Post COVID-19 Determined by Wastewater-Based Epidemiology
ClearIdentification of biomarkers in wastewater-based epidemiology: Main approaches and analytical methods
This review covers biomarker identification in wastewater-based epidemiology, examining how emerging contaminants including microplastics and pharmaceuticals in wastewater can serve as population-level indicators of disease, health behaviors, and chemical exposures in cities.
Pharmaceutical and Microplastic Pollution before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Surface Water, Wastewater, and Groundwater
This review found that pharmaceutical residues and microplastics are widespread contaminants in surface water, groundwater, and wastewater globally, and that the COVID-19 pandemic amplified both types of pollution, with polypropylene and polyethylene being the most commonly detected plastic polymers.
Wastewater Monitoring Program in Abu Dhabi – A Boon to Early Warning & Public Health Issue Prevention
This paper is not about microplastics; it describes Abu Dhabi's wastewater epidemiological surveillance program for tracking infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and illicit drug use.
Prevalence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products, microplastics and co-infecting microbes in the post-COVID-19 era and its implications on antimicrobial resistance and potential endocrine disruptive effects
This review examines how the COVID-19 pandemic increased environmental contamination from pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and microplastics, all of which can promote antibiotic resistance and disrupt hormones. The surge in mask use, sanitizer disposal, and medication contributed to higher levels of these pollutants in waterways. The combination of microplastics with pharmaceutical residues creates a compounding threat where plastics can carry drug-resistant bacteria and hormone-disrupting chemicals into water supplies.
Consequence of COVID‐19 occurrences in wastewater with promising recognition and healing technologies: A review
This review examines COVID-19 in wastewater treatment contexts, discussing how the pandemic increased plastic and nanoplastic inputs alongside pharmaceutical and antibiotic contaminants, and evaluating emerging detection and treatment technologies for managing these compounding pollution challenges.
COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on the environment: A global perspective
This global perspective reviews environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, documenting sharp increases in single-use plastic waste, pharmaceutical pollution, and medical waste that more than offset short-term pollution reductions seen during lockdowns. The authors argue that pandemic-driven plastic surges created a new wave of microplastic contamination entering aquatic and terrestrial systems.
Treatment of Microplastics from Pharmaceutical Industrial Wastewater
Pharmaceutical manufacturing generates wastewater containing microplastics from plastic equipment, packaging, and processing materials, a source of contamination that surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as drug production ramped up. This review examines the nature of microplastic contamination in pharmaceutical wastewater and evaluates treatment techniques for removing these particles before discharge. Addressing this overlooked industrial source is important for reducing microplastic loads entering water systems from healthcare and pharmaceutical infrastructure.
Micro(nano)plastics as a vector of pharmaceuticals in aquatic ecosystem: Historical review and future trends
This systematic review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics in water can absorb and carry pharmaceutical drugs, creating a combined pollution threat. When medications attach to tiny plastic particles in rivers and oceans, they may become more harmful to aquatic life and potentially to humans who consume contaminated seafood or water. The research traces how this emerging double-threat has grown since 2018 and identifies key knowledge gaps.
Emerging contaminants – general aspects: sources, substances involved, and quantification
This review covers a range of emerging environmental contaminants — including microplastics in water bodies, pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, and medical-use metals — discussing their sources, harmful effects, and detection methods. It provides useful context for understanding how microplastics fit into the broader landscape of modern chemical pollution threatening human and ecosystem health.
Medical Household Waste as a Potential Environmental Hazard: An Ecological and Epidemiological Approach
Researchers investigated household pharmaceutical waste disposal practices and analyzed drug residues in water bodies near Mexico's largest urban population, identifying frequently detected medications and assessing associated environmental and health risks.
Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on microplastic abundance along the River Thames
Researchers monitored microplastic levels along the River Thames before, during, and after the Covid-19 pandemic from 2019 to 2021. The study found that the second national lockdown in November 2020 had the highest average microplastic concentrations, with fibers making up over 82% of particles detected, suggesting the pandemic influenced plastic pollution patterns in urban waterways.
On the emergence of a health-pollutant-climate nexus in the wake of a global pandemic
Researchers introduced the term 'envirodemics' to describe the surge of pandemic-generated pollutants — including plastics, disinfectants, and pharmaceutical waste — and examined how climate change will alter the transport and distribution of these contaminants in global waters, calling for integrated research on the health-pollutant-climate nexus.
The occurence of pharmaceuticals and other micropollutants in wastewater treatment plant in the aspect of interaction with microplastics
Researchers analysed the occurrence of antibiotics, virucidal, and fungicidal pharmaceuticals in raw and treated sewage at a wastewater treatment plant in southern Poland, examining their removal efficiency and potential interactions with microplastics present in the effluent. The study found that pharmaceutical micropollutants persisted through treatment to varying degrees, raising concerns about combined contamination pathways when microplastics act as co-vectors for these compounds.
How to decrease pharmaceuticals in the environment? A review
This review examines strategies for reducing pharmaceutical pollution in the environment, which is relevant to microplastic research because pharmaceuticals often co-occur with plastic contaminants in waterways. The authors ranked approaches from upstream solutions like greener drug design and better prescription practices to downstream technologies like advanced water treatment. The study concludes that preventing pharmaceutical pollution at its source is more effective and sustainable than relying solely on end-of-pipe treatment technologies.
New Pollution Challenges in Groundwater and Wastewater Due to COVID-19
This review examined how the COVID-19 pandemic worsened water pollution in groundwater and wastewater systems, as hospital waste, pharmaceuticals, and disinfectant chemicals entered water supplies at elevated rates. Increased use of single-use plastics during the pandemic also contributed to elevated microplastic contamination in water systems worldwide.
Effects of the Antidepressant Amitriptyline on Juvenile Brown Trout and Their Modulation by Microplastics
Researchers exposed juvenile brown trout to the antidepressant amitriptyline with and without polystyrene microplastics and found that microplastics modulated the pharmaceutical's effects on fish behavior and physiology, highlighting the complexity of combined pharmaceutical-plastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems.
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on microplastic occurrence in aquatic environments: A three-year study in Taihu Lake Basin, China
Researchers tracked microplastic levels in the Taihu Lake Basin in China over three years spanning the COVID-19 pandemic. They found that microplastic concentrations initially dropped by 62% at the start of lockdowns but gradually returned to pre-pandemic levels, while the proportion of small fiber-type plastics linked to masks and protective equipment increased. The study illustrates how shifts in human behavior and product use can rapidly change the composition of microplastic pollution in waterways.
Determination of the pharmaceuticals–nano/microplastics in aquatic systems by analytical and instrumental methods
Researchers reviewed analytical and instrumental methods for detecting pharmaceutical compounds associated with nano- and microplastic particles in aquatic systems. They examined how pharmaceuticals bind to plastic particles and the combined environmental risks these mixtures pose to water sources and marine life. The study identifies gaps in current detection capabilities and calls for improved methods to assess the combined impact of these co-occurring pollutants.
Pharmaceutical Pollution in Aquatic Environments: A Concise Review of Environmental Impacts and Bioremediation Systems
This review examines how pharmaceutical drugs are polluting waterways worldwide because conventional wastewater treatment cannot effectively remove them. The authors focus on bioremediation approaches, especially using fungi, as a more sustainable and eco-friendly way to break down these drug residues. While not directly about microplastics, the research is relevant because microplastics can carry pharmaceutical compounds in water, and better water treatment would address both contaminants.
Effect of an antidepressant on aquatic ecosystems in the presence of microplastics: A mesocosm study
In a three-month experiment using near-natural pond ecosystems, researchers found that microplastics changed how aquatic food webs responded to the antidepressant fluoxetine, altering plankton growth and microbial decomposition rates. The interaction between microplastics and the drug produced different effects than either pollutant alone. This study shows that microplastics can change how other common water pollutants affect ecosystems, making real-world impacts harder to predict.
Pharmaceuticals in the Aquatic Environment: A Review on Eco-Toxicology and the Remediation Potential of Algae
This review examines how pharmaceutical drugs end up in water through human activity and the damage they cause to aquatic life. Standard wastewater treatment plants are not designed to remove these drugs effectively, so researchers are exploring the use of algae as a low-cost, natural cleanup method. While not directly about microplastics, this is relevant because microplastics in water can absorb and transport pharmaceutical chemicals, potentially increasing human exposure.
Utjecaj COVID-19 obrazaca ponašanja na ekosustave
This study examines how COVID-19 pandemic behaviors altered ecosystem exposures, finding that the shift away from circular economy practices led to surges in single-use plastic consumption, pharmaceuticals, personal protective equipment waste, and inadequately managed medical waste. Researchers concluded that pandemic-era waste streams created novel and large-scale environmental contamination challenges requiring new policy frameworks and production model shifts.
Polyamide microplastics in wastewater as vectors of cationic pharmaceutical drugs
Researchers investigated whether polyamide microplastics in wastewater can adsorb pharmaceutical drugs and transport them into the environment. They found significant adsorption of hydrophobic pharmaceuticals like propranolol, amitriptyline, and fluoxetine, with limited desorption in river water but increased release in simulated gastric fluids. The findings suggest that microplastics discharged from wastewater treatment could carry adsorbed medications over long distances and release them if ingested by wildlife or humans.
Spatiotemporal variations and the ecological risks of microplastics in the watersheds of China: Implying the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
A data mining and multivariate statistical analysis of 8,898 microplastic samples from 23 Chinese watersheds examined how the COVID-19 pandemic affected microplastic pollution levels and patterns in China, the world's largest microplastic emitter. The study found measurable shifts in microplastic abundance and composition linked to pandemic-era changes in production and waste management.