The presence of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in the environment raises many questions about risk to the environment and risk to human health. Researchers have attributed adverse ecological effect effects to the presence of these compounds, particularly EDCs, though there is no consensus on what risk, if any, these compounds pose to human health. The scientific community is in the process of developing a better understanding of the occurrence, fate, and transport of pharmaceuticals and EDCs in the environment, including a better characterization of human exposure via drinking water. This paper provides a brief review of pharmaceuticals and EDCs in drinking water, as well as uses examples from Lake Mead, Nevada, USA, to highlight the issues associated with their fate and transport. Lastly, the effects of natural or anthropogenically driven processes, like natural seasonal flow or climate-change/prolonged drought are discussed as they are factors which can drastically alter environmental concentrations of these compounds. Without question, the propensity for the contamination of fresh water will rise as (1) human population continues to grow or (2) patterns of natural surface water slow and wastewater becomes a larger fraction of flow further highlighting the need for a more comprehensive understanding of their environmental behavior.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
January 01 2010
Endocrine disruptors and pharmaceuticals: implications for water sustainability
Shane A. Snyder;
1Applied Research and Development Center, Southern Nevada Water Authority, P.O. Box 99954, Las Vegas, NV, 89193-9954, USA E-mail: mark.benotti@snwa.com
E-mail: shane.snyder@snwa.com
Search for other works by this author on:
Mark J. Benotti
Mark J. Benotti
1Applied Research and Development Center, Southern Nevada Water Authority, P.O. Box 99954, Las Vegas, NV, 89193-9954, USA E-mail: mark.benotti@snwa.com
Search for other works by this author on:
Water Sci Technol (2010) 61 (1): 145–154.
Citation
Shane A. Snyder, Mark J. Benotti; Endocrine disruptors and pharmaceuticals: implications for water sustainability. Water Sci Technol 1 January 2010; 61 (1): 145–154. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2010.791
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
eBook
Pay-Per-View Access
$38.00