Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products in the Environment

Part 2 of 2: Effects of PPCPs on Marine Life and Implications to Human Health
By Marnie Kolach, Operations Manager – Winnipeg

Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) continue to be introduced to the environment, primarily through water systems via treated and untreated sewage, as well as run-off in agricultural areas.  To date, most of the research into the effects of PPCPs on the environment-at-large has been focused on aquatic environments.  Although studies continue, PPCPs appear to be responsible for various negative effects on marine life.

Populations of male fish are being feminized when exposed to wastewater containing low concentrations of synthetic hormones (e.g. estrone, ethinylestradiol) produced for oral contraceptives.  They are growing ovaries, suffering from lower sperm counts, producing egg proteins usually found only in females, and in some cases, even trying to lay eggs.  Some fish exhibit both male and female characteristics (intersex), and effectively show no desire to breed.

Antidepressants, including Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil, have been linked to significant delays in amphibian metamorphosis.  Normal tadpole development yields the growth of limbs within 57 days; however, tadpoles exposed to Prozac had yet to grow any limbs at 57 days.  This phenomenon is especially dangerous for frogs. Frogs lay eggs in temporary wetlands and any delays in development will surely result in death as they will physically be unable to abandon their arid surroundings.  Fish and amphibians are sensitive to subtle environmental changes and serve as biological indicators that may predict future effects on other species.

Increased use of antibiotics has created antibiotic-resistant pathogens and trace compounds from antibiotics may exacerbate the problem.  In 1999, the USGS found ampicillin-resistant bacteria in every US river that was tested.  Unless the influx of PPCPs to water bodies is severely curtailed, combating drug-resistant bacterial strains will require increasingly more expensive and toxic alternatives.  Eventually these toxic alternatives will return to the aquatic systems, resulting in an untenable snowball effect.

The litany of PPCPs already detected and identified in North American water systems include: antibiotics, painkillers, anti-inflammatories, hormones, tranquilizers, chemotherapy drugs, antiepileptic medication, heart drugs, veterinary products and phthalates.  Though many degrade reasonably quickly, it is unclear what effect, if any, their degradation products will have on the environment, and their degree of persistence.

Of the observed PPCPs, many are fully water-soluble, yet approximately 30% are fat-soluble. Fat-soluble PPCPs enter cells and move up the food-chain, becoming more concentrated as they progress (bio-accumulation).  Since humans are at the top of this food-chain, we would be consuming the most potent concentrations of these ‘re-cycled’ PPCPs.  And while human risk is not yet clear, much like with pesticides in the 1950’s thru the 1970’s, the negative effects may only present themselves decades later.

CANTEST is supporting the study effort of PPCPs through its ‘Environmental Quality Division’ by offering testing services capable of measuring the toxicological effects of these types of chemicals, even before they are commercially available.  For more detailed information, please contact our Burnaby facility.