Medicines that help treat illness could be contributing to a little-known form of air pollution, with pharmaceutical residues detected in the atmosphere and potentially affecting people, wildlife and ecosystems, according to a new review of research.
The review, published in Environmental Pollution and Management, examines what is known about pharmaceutical contamination in air and soil. The researchers describe the presence of drugs in the atmosphere as an ‘understudied but important’ route of environmental exposure.
Pharmaceutical residues can enter the air from several sources, including medicine manufacturing, hospitals, wastewater treatment and agricultural activities. Drugs can become attached to airborne particles or form aerosols, allowing them to travel through the atmosphere before eventually settling onto soil and water.
The review found evidence of a wide range of pharmaceutical compounds in air, including antibiotics, painkillers, antidepressants, hormones and anticancer drugs. Some have been detected around pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities and healthcare settings, while others have been found in the centre of major cities.
One example highlighted by the researchers is 5-fluorouracil, an anticancer drug detected at high concentrations in air around a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant. Cyclophosphamide has also been detected in the air of a hospital outpatient clinic, leading the researchers to question whether this occupational exposure should be a cause for concern.
Nor does the pollution remain in the air. Pharmaceutical compounds carried on particles can be deposited onto land through rain or dry settling, creating another route into soil and potentially into ecosystems. In agricultural areas, residues may also become airborne from manure and sewage sludge containing pharmaceutical compounds.
Co-author Md Saydur Rahman said: ‘These processes significantly influence their environmental mobility and toxicity. The presence of pharmaceuticals alters soil microbial communities, reduces biodiversity, and disrupts plant growth and crop productivity.’
Antibiotics are of particular concern because environmental exposure can encourage the selection and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The review says pharmaceutical contamination can also affect soil microorganisms, plants and wildlife, although many of the longer-term consequences remain uncertain.
The authors have called for improved monitoring, particularly because pharmaceutical concentrations in air can be extremely low and difficult to measure. They call for more sensitive air-sampling techniques and further investigation of how pharmaceutical pollutants move, persist and break down in the atmosphere.
The full research can be read here.
Photo: Michał Parzuchowski
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