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Pharmaceuticals in the Environment: Changes in the Presence and Concentrations of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use in Italy

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Pharmaceuticals in the Environment

Abstract

Until recently information on pharmaceuticals emitted in the environment was scanty. In the last two decades, pharmaceuticals such as clofibrate, analgesics, antibiotics and antineoplastics have been found in the effluent of sewage treatment plants (STP) (Halling-Sørensen et al.1998; Kümmerer 2001). Some of these compounds were not readily biodegradable and were also detectable in surface water and groundwater (Oilers et al. 2001; Sacher et al. 2001). Several pharmaceuticals have been detected in the µg l−1 range in wastewaters throughout Europe, and some have been measured at ng l−1 concentrations in rivers and drinking water (Halling-Sørensen et al. 1998; Kümmerer 2001; Ollers et al. 2001; Sacher et al. 2001; Zuccato et al. 2000).

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Zuccato, E., Castiglioni, S., Fanelli, R., Bagnati, R., Calamari, D. (2004). Pharmaceuticals in the Environment: Changes in the Presence and Concentrations of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use in Italy. In: Kümmerer, K. (eds) Pharmaceuticals in the Environment. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-09259-0_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-09259-0_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-09261-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-09259-0

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