solubility and biological availability of chemical constituents such as nutrients and heavy metals (Ecology, 2013).
Estuarine pH values change in response to natural biological activities such as plant photosynthesis. During this process, plants remove carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the water
and expel oxygen (O 2 ) which is essential for aquatic flora
and fauna respiration (AGDEH, 2006). The removal of
CO 2 results in a higher pH, and the water becomes more
alkaline. When algae naturally begin to increase in estuaries
during the spring, pH levels tend to rise. An overabundance
of algae (called an algal bloom) may cause pH levels in an
estuary to rise significantly, and this can be lethal to aquatic
animals (NOAA, 2012).
Bibliography
AGDEH, 2006. Estuarine Monitoring. Waterwatch Australia
national technical manual: Module 7, Australian Government
2006, Published by the Australian Government Department of
the Environment and Heritage.
Ecological Dictionary, 2011. Definition of pH. http://www.
ecologydictionary.org/pH
Ecology, 2013. A Citizen's Guide to Understanding and Monitoring
Lakes and Streams. Department of Ecology, State of Washington.
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/ants/management/joysman
ual/ph.html
EPA, 2011. What is pH? US Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/measure/ph.html
George, B., Kumarm, J. I. N., and Kumar, R. N., 2012. Study on the
influence of hydro-chemical parameters on phytoplankton
distribution along Tapi estuarine area of Gulf of Khambhat,
India. The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research, 38(3),
157–170.
Locke, A., 2008. Tabulated Observations of the pH Tolerance of
Marine and Estuarine Biota. Fisheries and Oceans Canada Gulf
Fisheries Centre, Canadian Manuscript Report of Fisheries and
Aquatic Sciences 2857.
NOAA, 2012. pH. Monitoring Estuaries, National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration Ocean Service Education.
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/estuaries/media/
supp_estuar10f_ph.html
NSW, 2010. Waterwatch Estuary Guide. A guide to community monitoring of water quality and estuary health, monitoring water quality in estuaries. http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/
waterwatch/estuaryGuide/20100685EstuaryGuide_S2.pdf.
USGS, 2013. Water Properties and Measurements. U.S. Department
of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey Science for a changing
world, The US Water Science School. http://ga.water.usgs.gov/
edu/characteristics.html
PHARMACEUTICALS
Vanessa Hatje
Laboratório de Oceanografia Química – CIENAm,
Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal da Bahia –
UFBA, Salvador, BA, Brazil
Synonyms
Therapeutic drugs
Definition
Pharmaceuticals are a class of contaminants that are
extensively and increasingly being used throughout the
world in human and veterinary medicine. They encompass
all prescription, nonprescription, and over-the-counter
human therapeutic drugs used for the diagnosis, treatment,
and prevention of disease, illicit or recreational
drugs, products of personal care (e.g., fragrances, lotions,
cosmetics, and sunscreens), veterinary drugs, and
bioactive food supplements (Khetan and Collins, 2007).
Sources and legacy
Advances in sample pretreatment and analysis have
allowed the identification of trace quantities of pharmaceuticals in all aquatic compartments in the last two
decades. The widespread occurrence of these substances
are of concern because they are designed to perform
a specific biological effect; thus they have many of the
necessary properties to provoke effects in nontarget species in the aquatic and continental ecosystems at lower
concentrations than the intended therapeutic effect
(Halling-Sorensen et al., 1998; Fent et al., 2006). It is also
now emerging that pharmaceuticals and their metabolites
can bioaccumulate and may have significant, but largely
unstudied, consequences for individuals, populations,
and ecosystems (Sumpter, 2009; Arnold et al., 2013).
Monitoring the levels and fate of these contaminants in
the marine environment, nevertheless, is a huge challenge
due to the very low levels these compounds occur in
the environment and the ever-expanding range of
pharmaceuticals.
Pharmaceuticals can be categorized according to their
therapeutic effect: antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs,
analgesics, lipid regulators, beta blockers, steroids and
related hormones, cancer therapeutics, antiepileptics, antidepressants, diuretics, tranquilizers, and X-ray contrast
(Daughton and Ternes, 1999; Nikolaou et al., 2007).
Among these compounds, caffeine is the most widespread
pharmaceutical (Bradley et al., 2007), whereas diclofenac,
clofibric acid, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, aspirin, carbamazepine, atorvastatin, gemfibrozil, fluoxetine, and
17b-ethynylestradiol have also become ubiquitous in the
environment (Arnold et al., 2013; Liang et al., 2013).
The consumption of pharmaceuticals around the world
has been rising consistently with the advances in medical
technology and growing health care spending (Khetan
and Collins, 2007). After usage, pharmaceuticals are
excreted in their original form or as metabolites and may
enter aquatic systems via different ways. The main pathway for pharmaceuticals is, therefore, domestic sewage
treatment plants, which are not designed to remove trace
compounds of pharmaceuticals from influents. Some techniques like photocatalytic degradation (Doll and Frimmel,
2004), advanced oxidation, and reduction processes
(Jeong et al., 2010) or activated powdered carbon
(Lipp et al., 2012; Margot et al., 2013) seem to be suitable
tools for removal of some groups of pharmaceuticals.
PHARMACEUTICALS
481
Estuarine pH values change in response to natural biological activities such as plant photosynthesis. During this process, plants remove carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the water
and expel oxygen (O 2 ) which is essential for aquatic flora
and fauna respiration (AGDEH, 2006). The removal of
CO 2 results in a higher pH, and the water becomes more
alkaline. When algae naturally begin to increase in estuaries
during the spring, pH levels tend to rise. An overabundance
of algae (called an algal bloom) may cause pH levels in an
estuary to rise significantly, and this can be lethal to aquatic
animals (NOAA, 2012).
Bibliography
AGDEH, 2006. Estuarine Monitoring. Waterwatch Australia
national technical manual: Module 7, Australian Government
2006, Published by the Australian Government Department of
the Environment and Heritage.
Ecological Dictionary, 2011. Definition of pH. http://www.
ecologydictionary.org/pH
Ecology, 2013. A Citizen's Guide to Understanding and Monitoring
Lakes and Streams. Department of Ecology, State of Washington.
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/ants/management/joysman
ual/ph.html
EPA, 2011. What is pH? US Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/measure/ph.html
George, B., Kumarm, J. I. N., and Kumar, R. N., 2012. Study on the
influence of hydro-chemical parameters on phytoplankton
distribution along Tapi estuarine area of Gulf of Khambhat,
India. The Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research, 38(3),
157–170.
Locke, A., 2008. Tabulated Observations of the pH Tolerance of
Marine and Estuarine Biota. Fisheries and Oceans Canada Gulf
Fisheries Centre, Canadian Manuscript Report of Fisheries and
Aquatic Sciences 2857.
NOAA, 2012. pH. Monitoring Estuaries, National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration Ocean Service Education.
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/estuaries/media/
supp_estuar10f_ph.html
NSW, 2010. Waterwatch Estuary Guide. A guide to community monitoring of water quality and estuary health, monitoring water quality in estuaries. http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/
waterwatch/estuaryGuide/20100685EstuaryGuide_S2.pdf.
USGS, 2013. Water Properties and Measurements. U.S. Department
of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey Science for a changing
world, The US Water Science School. http://ga.water.usgs.gov/
edu/characteristics.html
PHARMACEUTICALS
Vanessa Hatje
Laboratório de Oceanografia Química – CIENAm,
Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal da Bahia –
UFBA, Salvador, BA, Brazil
Synonyms
Therapeutic drugs
Definition
Pharmaceuticals are a class of contaminants that are
extensively and increasingly being used throughout the
world in human and veterinary medicine. They encompass
all prescription, nonprescription, and over-the-counter
human therapeutic drugs used for the diagnosis, treatment,
and prevention of disease, illicit or recreational
drugs, products of personal care (e.g., fragrances, lotions,
cosmetics, and sunscreens), veterinary drugs, and
bioactive food supplements (Khetan and Collins, 2007).
Sources and legacy
Advances in sample pretreatment and analysis have
allowed the identification of trace quantities of pharmaceuticals in all aquatic compartments in the last two
decades. The widespread occurrence of these substances
are of concern because they are designed to perform
a specific biological effect; thus they have many of the
necessary properties to provoke effects in nontarget species in the aquatic and continental ecosystems at lower
concentrations than the intended therapeutic effect
(Halling-Sorensen et al., 1998; Fent et al., 2006). It is also
now emerging that pharmaceuticals and their metabolites
can bioaccumulate and may have significant, but largely
unstudied, consequences for individuals, populations,
and ecosystems (Sumpter, 2009; Arnold et al., 2013).
Monitoring the levels and fate of these contaminants in
the marine environment, nevertheless, is a huge challenge
due to the very low levels these compounds occur in
the environment and the ever-expanding range of
pharmaceuticals.
Pharmaceuticals can be categorized according to their
therapeutic effect: antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs,
analgesics, lipid regulators, beta blockers, steroids and
related hormones, cancer therapeutics, antiepileptics, antidepressants, diuretics, tranquilizers, and X-ray contrast
(Daughton and Ternes, 1999; Nikolaou et al., 2007).
Among these compounds, caffeine is the most widespread
pharmaceutical (Bradley et al., 2007), whereas diclofenac,
clofibric acid, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, aspirin, carbamazepine, atorvastatin, gemfibrozil, fluoxetine, and
17b-ethynylestradiol have also become ubiquitous in the
environment (Arnold et al., 2013; Liang et al., 2013).
The consumption of pharmaceuticals around the world
has been rising consistently with the advances in medical
technology and growing health care spending (Khetan
and Collins, 2007). After usage, pharmaceuticals are
excreted in their original form or as metabolites and may
enter aquatic systems via different ways. The main pathway for pharmaceuticals is, therefore, domestic sewage
treatment plants, which are not designed to remove trace
compounds of pharmaceuticals from influents. Some techniques like photocatalytic degradation (Doll and Frimmel,
2004), advanced oxidation, and reduction processes
(Jeong et al., 2010) or activated powdered carbon
(Lipp et al., 2012; Margot et al., 2013) seem to be suitable
tools for removal of some groups of pharmaceuticals.
PHARMACEUTICALS
481