Hazardous consequences of pharmaceutical wastes to groundwater

Abstract

The pharmaceutical business is one of the fastest emerging sectors in the global as well as in the Indian scenario. Due to the rapid growth of the pharmaceutical industry, its wastes have become a source of emerging pollutants of concern especially in water. In the past decades, pharmaceutical traces in small quantities have been observed even in the hydrological cycle. Considering the various impacts of pharmaceutical wastes on human and environmental health, their presence in water even in trace amounts can become a grave area of concern. In the present chapter, different compositions of pharmaceutical wastes along with their impacts on the environment and human health are elaborated. It also examines different remediation techniques for pharmaceutical wastes as well as foreseeable challenges in the near future. It has been observed that no technology can be adequate for the treatment of all such effluents. In this direction, employing green synthesis and environment-friendly treatment methodologies has the potential to reach an enhanced level of sustainability in this sector. The principles of green chemistry imply that synthesized chemicals must not only serve the targeted purposes but also be fast, effective, and easily degradable, and thus, this approach must provide both ecological and economic benefits. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.