An integrated approach for prioritizing pharmaceuticals found in the environment for risk assessment, monitoring and advanced research

TY - JOUR

T1 - An integrated approach for prioritizing pharmaceuticals found in the environment for risk assessment, monitoring and advanced research

AU - Caldwell, Daniel J.

AU - Mastrocco, Frank

AU - Margiotta-Casaluci, Luigi

AU - Brooks, Bryan W.

N1 - Funding Information: The Post-Doctoral research of L.M-C was supported by the BBSRC Industrial Partnership Award BB/I00646X/1 with AstraZeneca Safety Health and Environment Research Programme. Publisher Copyright: © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - Numerous active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), approved prior to enactment of detailed environmental risk assessment (ERA) guidance in the EU in 2006, have been detected in surface waters as a result of advancements in analytical technologies. Without adequate knowledge of the potential hazards these APIs may pose, assessing their environmental risk is challenging. As it would be impractical to commence hazard characterization and ERA en masse, several approaches to prioritizing substances for further attention have been published. Here, through the combination of three presentations given at a recent conference, ". Pharmaceuticals in the Environment, Is there a problem?" (Nîmes, France, June 2013) we review several of these approaches, identify salient components, and present available techniques and tools that could facilitate a pragmatic, scientifically sound approach to prioritizing APIs for advanced study or ERA and, where warranted, fill critical data gaps through targeted, intelligent testing. We further present a modest proposal to facilitate future prioritization efforts and advanced research studies that incorporates mammalian pharmacology data (e.g., adverse outcomes pathways and the fish plasma model) and modeled exposure data based on pharmaceutical use.

AB - Numerous active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), approved prior to enactment of detailed environmental risk assessment (ERA) guidance in the EU in 2006, have been detected in surface waters as a result of advancements in analytical technologies. Without adequate knowledge of the potential hazards these APIs may pose, assessing their environmental risk is challenging. As it would be impractical to commence hazard characterization and ERA en masse, several approaches to prioritizing substances for further attention have been published. Here, through the combination of three presentations given at a recent conference, ". Pharmaceuticals in the Environment, Is there a problem?" (Nîmes, France, June 2013) we review several of these approaches, identify salient components, and present available techniques and tools that could facilitate a pragmatic, scientifically sound approach to prioritizing APIs for advanced study or ERA and, where warranted, fill critical data gaps through targeted, intelligent testing. We further present a modest proposal to facilitate future prioritization efforts and advanced research studies that incorporates mammalian pharmacology data (e.g., adverse outcomes pathways and the fish plasma model) and modeled exposure data based on pharmaceutical use.

KW - Adverse outcome pathways

KW - Environmental risk assessment

KW - Intelligent testing

KW - Pharmaceuticals in the environment

KW - Prioritization

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84921633473&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.01.021

DO - 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.01.021

M3 - Article

C2 - 24636702

AN - SCOPUS:84921633473

SN - 0045-6535

VL - 115

SP - 4

EP - 12

JO - Chemosphere

JF - Chemosphere

IS - 1

ER -