European Union. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a varied and
chemically heterogeneous group of mainly anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic drugs, reducing symptoms of inflammation, pain, and fever, respectively.
They are widely employed and have been detected in freshwater, seawater, and
sediment. Nevertheless, they are found as mixture instead of single compounds. In
this chapter, we have tried to summarize how to assess the risk due to the occurrence
of pharmaceuticals in aquatic ecosystems. We have focused on the mixture of
diclofenac and ibuprofen using acute and sublethal toxicity data for different aquatic
species. It has been presented new strategies as adverse outcome pathway to improve
the understanding of the toxicity of these compounds. Although gaps of the information are pointed out, the risk levels associated with the occurrence of these
compounds in aquatic ecosystems will range between no risk or high risk, depending
on concentrations and environmental conditions.
Keywords Aquatic pollution, Diclofenac, Ibuprofen, Lethal and sublethal effects,
NSAIDs, Pharmaceuticals, Risk evaluation
1 Introduction
Over the last 15 years, pharmaceuticals have been receiving increasing attention as
potential bioactive chemicals in the environment [1]. They are considered emerging
contaminants in water bodies because they still remain mostly unregulated or are
undergoing currently some sort of regularization process. Diclofenac (DF), for
instance, is included in a watch list of substances for European Union-wide monitoring according to Directive 2008/105/EC (EU Commission Implementing Decision 2015) or the priority list of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) of the
European Union (EC, Directive 2000/60/EC) by means of a proposal for a Directive
amending the WFD with respect to priority substances (COM [2] 876).
One of the first studies that evidences the presence of pharmaceutical compounds in
surface waters has been published by Kolpin et al. [3] who detected up to 95 pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic contaminants in water samples from a network
of 139 US streams across 30 states in 1999 and 2000, including the anti-inflammatory
drug Ibuprofen (IB). Since then, more and more reports have been published on the
increased occurrence of pharmaceutical residues at concentrations at the ng-μg L
À1
range in different environmental matrixes [3–6]. Although being present at relatively
low concentrations, pharmaceutical compounds are bioactive molecules especially
designed to carry out a certain function which they continue to do once discharged
into receiving waters with only small amounts required to produce effects in exposed
organisms. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a varied and chemically heterogeneous group of mainly anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic
drugs, reducing symptoms of inflammation, pain, and fever, respectively [7, 8]. NSAIDs
162
C. Trombini et al.
chemically heterogeneous group of mainly anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic drugs, reducing symptoms of inflammation, pain, and fever, respectively.
They are widely employed and have been detected in freshwater, seawater, and
sediment. Nevertheless, they are found as mixture instead of single compounds. In
this chapter, we have tried to summarize how to assess the risk due to the occurrence
of pharmaceuticals in aquatic ecosystems. We have focused on the mixture of
diclofenac and ibuprofen using acute and sublethal toxicity data for different aquatic
species. It has been presented new strategies as adverse outcome pathway to improve
the understanding of the toxicity of these compounds. Although gaps of the information are pointed out, the risk levels associated with the occurrence of these
compounds in aquatic ecosystems will range between no risk or high risk, depending
on concentrations and environmental conditions.
Keywords Aquatic pollution, Diclofenac, Ibuprofen, Lethal and sublethal effects,
NSAIDs, Pharmaceuticals, Risk evaluation
1 Introduction
Over the last 15 years, pharmaceuticals have been receiving increasing attention as
potential bioactive chemicals in the environment [1]. They are considered emerging
contaminants in water bodies because they still remain mostly unregulated or are
undergoing currently some sort of regularization process. Diclofenac (DF), for
instance, is included in a watch list of substances for European Union-wide monitoring according to Directive 2008/105/EC (EU Commission Implementing Decision 2015) or the priority list of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) of the
European Union (EC, Directive 2000/60/EC) by means of a proposal for a Directive
amending the WFD with respect to priority substances (COM [2] 876).
One of the first studies that evidences the presence of pharmaceutical compounds in
surface waters has been published by Kolpin et al. [3] who detected up to 95 pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic contaminants in water samples from a network
of 139 US streams across 30 states in 1999 and 2000, including the anti-inflammatory
drug Ibuprofen (IB). Since then, more and more reports have been published on the
increased occurrence of pharmaceutical residues at concentrations at the ng-μg L
À1
range in different environmental matrixes [3–6]. Although being present at relatively
low concentrations, pharmaceutical compounds are bioactive molecules especially
designed to carry out a certain function which they continue to do once discharged
into receiving waters with only small amounts required to produce effects in exposed
organisms. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are a varied and chemically heterogeneous group of mainly anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic
drugs, reducing symptoms of inflammation, pain, and fever, respectively [7, 8]. NSAIDs
162
C. Trombini et al.