Drug pollution & Sustainable Development Goals
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that drugs in general, and growing drug pollution in particular, affects the SDGs in deeper, not readily apparent ways, and outline and discuss how drug pollution can affect SDGs and even threaten their achievement.
About: This article is published in Science of The Total Environment.The article was published on 2021-12-15. It has received 16 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Sustainable development.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: New measures and research are needed to limit the ecological impact of pharmaceuticals, according to the World Health Organization.
Abstract: Description New measures and research are needed to limit the ecological impact of pharmaceuticals The growth of pollution arising from the production and consumption of synthetic chemicals now outpaces all other environmental disruptors (e.g., rising carbon dioxide emissions) (1). Humans consume more pharmaceuticals than ever; in 2020, the volume of medicines used globally reached 4.5 trillion doses, and consumption continues to rise (2). In addition, drugs are also administered to a wide range of livestock and pets. Although pharmaceutical use brings huge benefits to human and animal health, it has also led to increased pharmaceutical pollution of ecosystems throughout the world (3). This pollution is likely to be exacerbated by disease epidemics and pandemics, which induce major drug spikes in aquatic ecosystems that receive wastewater, resulting in unknown ecological impacts.
16 citations
TL;DR: Wang et al. as mentioned in this paper conducted a comprehensive assessment on community resilience adapted to the FFE scenario, and 20 indicators were extracted, and 4 communities that encountered FFE in China were selected for the empirical analysis.
Abstract: Natural hazards bring significant influences on and socioeconomic loss to cities and communities. Historic events show that fire following earthquake (FFE) is the most influential uncertain disturbance on the urban infrastructure system. Under the FFE scenario, the concept of resilience is widely implemented to make up the shortcomings derived from the traditional disaster management methodology. Resilient cities and communities are required to improve the systemic performance in responding to the FFE. To fulfill these goals, measuring community resilience is an essential work for municipal policy makers. Therefore, this study conducted a comprehensive assessment on community resilience adapted to the FFE scenario. The systematic literature review (SLR) was employed to identify the indicators, and the analytic network process (ANP) technique was implemented to determine their weights. 20 indicators were extracted, and 4 communities that encountered FFE in China were selected for the empirical analysis. Thereafter, the preference ranking organization method for enriched evaluation (PROMETHEE) II technique was selected through using the multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) methods selection framework to fulfill the comprehensive assessment. The results were discussed and demonstrated with graphical analysis for interactive aid (GAIA) technique. The findings revealed that the G Community won the highest score and had the strongest performance. However, H Community had the lowest score and the weakest performance. The proposed comprehensive methods could benefit the decision-makers and the policy executors achieving the community resilience adapted to the FFE scenario by improving the effective indicators.
10 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the degradation effect of basic and photocatalytic materials prepared in different proportions was studied, and the response surface methodology (RSM) was used to study the optimization and effect of solution pH (4−12), photocatalyst concentration (0.2−1.8), and NFX concentration (3−15 ǫmg/L) on the degradation rate of NFX.
9 citations
TL;DR: The need for a GREENER approach to identify and meet important environmental criteria, which will help reduce the impact of medicinal residues on the environment is highlighted and the feasibility of including these criteria for green by design active pharmaceutical ingredients in the process of drug discovery and development is discussed.
Abstract: Medicines are essential to human health but can also impact the aquatic and terrestrial environment after use by patients and release via excreta into wastewater. We highlight the need for a GREENER approach to identify and meet important environmental criteria, which will help reduce the impact of medicinal residues on the environment. These criteria include effect reduction by avoiding nontarget effects or undesirable moieties, exposure reduction via lower emissions or environmental (bio)degradability, no PBT (persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic) substances, and risk mitigation. With all of these criteria, however, patient health is of primary importance as medicines are required to be safe and efficacious for treating diseases. We discuss the feasibility of including these criteria for green by design active pharmaceutical ingredients in the process of drug discovery and development and which tools or assays are needed to accomplish this. The integrated GREENER approach can be used to accelerate discussions about future innovations in drug discovery and development.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors explored how different types of organizational culture and normative commitment impact sustainability and each other in business logistics and supply chains and developed a conceptual model to manage this challenge.
Abstract: The importance of sustainability in supply chain management is growing worldwide. It is possible to find reasons for this using various phenomena that negatively affect humanity, e.g., climate change, scarce materials, supply disruptions, and complex fossil fuel dependency. Because of that, is extremely important to constantly look for new ways to systematically increase sustainability in enterprises and their logistics and supply chain processes by considering different stakeholders and influential factors. Therefore, this paper explores how different types of organizational culture and normative commitment impact sustainability and each other in business logistics and supply chains and develops a conceptual model to manage this challenge. Gaining new insights is valuable especially for managers to obtain better information on how to improve sustainability not just by integrating green technologies but mainly by changing culture, attitude, and perception in their enterprises. The research is focused on employees from global logistics or related branches in micro, small, medium, and large enterprises with the primary activity mostly related to manufacturing, transport, and storage. The findings are based on the questionnaire which was sent directly to 1576 employees from 528 enterprises. A total of 516 employees from enterprises that are mostly located in 34 countries responded to requests for participation. The results reveal statistically significant positive and negative impacts, e.g., clan culture has a positive statistically significant impact on the sustainable development of supply chains. Most of the connections to the eighth Sustainable Development Goal by the United Nations (decent work and economic growth) were also found, which was the enterprise’s highest priority with a share of 52.99%. A contribution to the theory development is gained using the developed model that considers both positive and negative statistically significant impacts studied.
5 citations
References
More filters
01 Jan 2016
TL;DR: The Scoping meeting on collaboration between Regional Seas Programmes and Regional Fisheries Bodies in the Southwest Indian Ocean is described in this article, where the authors propose a framework for collaboration between regional sea programmes and regional fisheries bodies in the Indian Ocean.
Abstract: Information document of the Scoping meeting on collaboration between Regional Seas Programmes and Regional Fisheries Bodies in the Southwest Indian Ocean
13,752 citations
TL;DR: The first global map (228 countries) of antibiotic consumption in livestock is presented and it is projected that antimicrobial consumption will rise by 67% by 2030, and nearly double in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Abstract: Demand for animal protein for human consumption is rising globally at an unprecedented rate. Modern animal production practices are associated with regular use of antimicrobials, potentially increasing selection pressure on bacteria to become resistant. Despite the significant potential consequences for antimicrobial resistance, there has been no quantitative measurement of global antimicrobial consumption by livestock. We address this gap by using Bayesian statistical models combining maps of livestock densities, economic projections of demand for meat products, and current estimates of antimicrobial consumption in high-income countries to map antimicrobial use in food animals for 2010 and 2030. We estimate that the global average annual consumption of antimicrobials per kilogram of animal produced was 45 mg⋅kg(-1), 148 mg⋅kg(-1), and 172 mg⋅kg(-1) for cattle, chicken, and pigs, respectively. Starting from this baseline, we estimate that between 2010 and 2030, the global consumption of antimicrobials will increase by 67%, from 63,151 ± 1,560 tons to 105,596 ± 3,605 tons. Up to a third of the increase in consumption in livestock between 2010 and 2030 is imputable to shifting production practices in middle-income countries where extensive farming systems will be replaced by large-scale intensive farming operations that routinely use antimicrobials in subtherapeutic doses. For Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, the increase in antimicrobial consumption will be 99%, up to seven times the projected population growth in this group of countries. Better understanding of the consequences of the uninhibited growth in veterinary antimicrobial consumption is needed to assess its potential effects on animal and human health.
2,371 citations
TL;DR: It is shown that chronic exposure of fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) to low concentrations of the potent 17α-ethynylestradiol led to feminization of males through the production of vitellogenin mRNA and protein, impacts on gonadal development as evidenced by intersex in males and altered oogenesis in females, and, ultimately, a near extinction of this species from the lake.
Abstract: Municipal wastewaters are a complex mixture containing estrogens and estrogen mimics that are known to affect the reproductive health of wild fishes. Male fishes downstream of some wastewater outfalls produce vitellogenin (VTG) (a protein normally synthesized by females during oocyte maturation) and early-stage eggs in their testes, and this feminization has been attributed to the presence of estrogenic substances such as natural estrogens [estrone or 17β-estradiol (E2)], the synthetic estrogen used in birth-control pills [17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2)], or weaker estrogen mimics such as nonylphenol in the water. Despite widespread evidence that male fishes are being feminized, it is not known whether these low-level, chronic exposures adversely impact the sustainability of wild populations. We conducted a 7-year, whole-lake experiment at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) in northwestern Ontario, Canada, and showed that chronic exposure of fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) to low concentrations (5–6 ng·L−1) of the potent 17α-ethynylestradiol led to feminization of males through the production of vitellogenin mRNA and protein, impacts on gonadal development as evidenced by intersex in males and altered oogenesis in females, and, ultimately, a near extinction of this species from the lake. Our observations demonstrate that the concentrations of estrogens and their mimics observed in freshwaters can impact the sustainability of wild fish populations.
1,910 citations
TL;DR: Results are provided that directly correlate residues of the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac with renal failure and renal failure in the Oriental white-backed vulture (OWBV) and it is proposed that residues of veterinary diclotenac are responsible for the OWBV decline.
Abstract: The Oriental white-backed vulture (OWBV; Gyps bengalensis) was once one of the most common raptors in the Indian subcontinent A population decline of >95%, starting in the 1990s, was first noted at Keoladeo National Park, India Since then, catastrophic declines, also involving Gyps indicus and Gyps tenuirostris, have continued to be reported across the subcontinent Consequently these vultures are now listed as critically endangered by BirdLife International In 2000, the Peregrine Fund initiated its Asian Vulture Crisis Project with the Ornithological Society of Pakistan, establishing study sites at 16 OWBV colonies in the Kasur, Khanewal and Muzaffargarh-Layyah Districts of Pakistan to measure mortality at over 2,400 active nest sites Between 2000 and 2003, high annual adult and subadult mortality (5-86%) and resulting population declines (34-95%) (ref 5 and MG, manuscript in preparation) were associated with renal failure and visceral gout Here, we provide results that directly correlate residues of the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac with renal failure Diclofenac residues and renal disease were reproduced experimentally in OWBVs by direct oral exposure and through feeding vultures diclofenac-treated livestock We propose that residues of veterinary diclofenac are responsible for the OWBV decline
1,568 citations
TL;DR: This work shows that a benzodiazepine anxiolytic drug (oxazepam) alters behavior and feeding rate of wild European perch at concentrations encountered in effluent-influenced surface waters, and alters animal behaviors that are known to have ecological and evolutionary consequences.
Abstract: Environmental pollution by pharmaceuticals is increasingly recognized as a major threat to aquatic ecosystems worldwide. A variety of pharmaceuticals enter waterways by way of treated wastewater effluents and remain biochemically active in aquatic systems. Several ecotoxicological studies have been done, but generally, little is known about the ecological effects of pharmaceuticals. Here we show that a benzodiazepine anxiolytic drug (oxazepam) alters behavior and feeding rate of wild European perch (Perca fluviatilis) at concentrations encountered in effluent-influenced surface waters. Individuals exposed to water with dilute drug concentrations (1.8 micrograms liter–1) exhibited increased activity, reduced sociality, and higher feeding rate. As such, our results show that anxiolytic drugs in surface waters alter animal behaviors that are known to have ecological and evolutionary consequences.
674 citations