ABSTRACT
Pharmaceuticals are biologically active compounds found in prescription medicines, over-the-counter therapeutic drugs, and veterinary drugs. A fraction of the pharmaceutical dose used by humans is excreted unchanged, or as a metabolite, into wastewater. Wastewater treatment systems (WWTSs) are inefficient at removing all of the pharmaceutical products and their metabolites entering these systems. As a result, these compounds are released to receiving waters (i.e., surface waters or even groundwater), where they can adversely affect environmental receptors or become a source of drinking water for people.
