Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in freshwater environments: Environmental fate, ecotoxicity, and remediation strategies.

Authors

Aeyaz Ahmad Bhat, Anis Ahmad Chaudhary, Mohamed A M Ali, Attiya Hameed, Anurag Malik, Meraj Ahmed, Atif Khurshid Wani

Published in

Marine pollution bulletin. Volume 233. Issue Pt 2. Pages 120327. Sep 05, 2026. Epub Sep 05, 2026.

Abstract

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have emerged as contaminants of increasing environmental concern due to their continuous release, widespread occurrence, and persistence in aquatic ecosystems. Although numerous studies have investigated their occurrence, transformation, and removal, a comprehensive synthesis linking their environmental fate, associated risks, and remediation strategies remains limited. This review addresses this knowledge gap by integrating current understanding of PPCP sources, transport pathways, transformation processes, ecological and human health impacts, and emerging treatment technologies. PPCPs enter surface water, groundwater, and drinking water primarily through domestic, hospital, and industrial effluents, while the limited removal efficiency of conventional wastewater treatment plants facilitates their environmental persistence. Following their release, PPCPs undergo sorption, photodegradation, and microbial transformation, producing metabolites that may exhibit equal or greater toxicity than their parent compounds. Their occurrence has been associated with endocrine disruption, antimicrobial resistance, and chronic toxicity in aquatic organisms, highlighting the need for effective mitigation strategies. Current remediation approaches, including advanced oxidation processes, membrane filtration, adsorption, and biological treatments, offer significant potential but remain constrained by cost, scalability, and operational limitations. Overall, this review concludes that sustainable management of PPCPs requires an integrated framework combining advanced treatment technologies, comprehensive environmental monitoring, standardized risk assessment, and strengthened regulatory policies to minimize their long-term impacts on aquatic ecosystems and human health.

PMID:
42700531
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 06 Sep 2026.

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