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Point Sources of Human Pharmaceuticals into the Aquatic Environment

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Green and Sustainable Pharmacy

Abstract

It is generally accepted that treated sewage effluent discharges are the principal source of pharmaceutically active compounds and their metabolites from humans into the aquatic environment (Daughton and Ternes 2000, Heberer 2002). As has been discussed in other chapters of this book in order for the sustainable use of pharmaceuticals to become a reality there is a need to understand the complete life cycle of a pharmaceutical compound including the various pathways by which it can enter the aquatic environment.

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Correspondence to Kevin V. Thomas .

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Thomas, K.V., Langford, K.H. (2010). Point Sources of Human Pharmaceuticals into the Aquatic Environment. In: Kümmerer, K., Hempel, M. (eds) Green and Sustainable Pharmacy. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-05199-9_14

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