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This WHO technical report focuses on reviewing the risks to human health associated with exposure to trace concentrations of pharmaceuticals in drinking-water. Pharmaceuticals are synthetic or natural chemicals that can be found in prescription medicines, over-the-counter therapeutic drugs and veterinary drugs. Pharmaceuticals contain active ingredients that have been designed to have pharmacological effects and confer significant benefits to society. Traces of pharmaceuticals, typically at levels in the nanograms to low micrograms per litre range, have been reported in the water

The Weybridge+15 (1996-2011) technical report of the Europrean Environment Agency. Rates of endocrine diseases and disorders, such as some reproductive and developmental harm in human populations, have changed in line with the growth of the chemical industry, leading to concerns that these factors may be linked. For example, the current status of semen quality in the few European countries where studies have been systematically conducted, is very poor: fertility in approximately 40 % of men is impaired. There is also

Note by the secretariatThe secretariat has the honour to circulate, for the information of participants, the report of the International workshop on hazardous substances within the life-cycle of electrical and electronic products, held in Vienna, from 29 to 31 March 2011. The report, contained in the annex to the present note, has been transmitted by the secretariats of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a group of chemical compounds with diverse physical and chemical properties. Recent studies have indicated undesired effects of EDCs and PPCPs at their reported trace concentrations. This paper reviews the current knowledge on the sources, properties, occurrence and health impacts of EDCs and PPCPs, and their removal from drinking water using ozonation and ozone/hydrogen peroxide-based advanced oxidation. The paper also examines the potential threats posed by these chemicals

Over the past decade a great amount of interest has arisen regarding the occurrence and fate of trace organic contaminants in the aquatic environment. Of particular concern are human hormones and pharmaceuticals, many of which are ubiquitous contaminants in conventional municipal wastewater treatment plant effluents when measured with ng/L detection limits. As analytical procedures and bioassay techniques become more readily available and increasingly sensitive, new contaminants will be discovered. The presence or absence of any chemical in a wastewater effluent

The present Overarching Policy Strategy flows from the commitments expressed in the Dubai Declaration on International Chemicals Management developed in the context of the Rio Declaration, Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.

The Toxic Truth: Children’s Exposure to Lead Pollution Undermines a Generation of Future PotentialAround 1 in 3 children – up to 800 million globally – has blood lead levels at or above 5 micrograms per decilitre (µg/dL), a level that the World Health Organization and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stated it requires global and regional interventions.This joint report by UNICEF and Pure Earth notes that lead is a potent neurotoxin that causes irreparable harm