ABSTRACT
Environmental chemistry studies chemical processes that involve naturally occurring chemicals, as well as chemical pollutants of anthropogenic origins. Historically, environmental problems caused by the chemical pollutants acted as an impetus for the birth of green chemistry and its action. Environmental chemistry provided an understanding of the complex and often detrimental effects of chemical pollutants on life and the environment. Presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment is expected to continue. Some pharmaceutical pollutants escape degradation in water treatment plants and then enter the environment. Ethinylestradiol as a pharmaceutical pollutant in water may affect aquatic organisms differently at different stages of their development, and may cause various developmental and reproductive problems. Ecofriendly chemicals should not bioaccumulate. A successful ecofriendly design of chemicals should start with the understanding of "retrospective ecotoxicology," namely, of the previously established data about toxic responses of chemical pollutants in the environment.
