Project Description: An emerging area of toxicological concern is the risk associated with pharmaceuticals in the environment. Pharmaceuticals and their metabolites are continually introduced into the aquatic environment mainly via municipal and industrial sewage effluents. Additional sources for these compounds in the environment may include discharges from large farm animal operations runoff from golf courses that use secondary treated sewage as an irrigation water source. A variety of pharmaceuticals have been detected in environmental samples, including antibiotics, hormones, blood lipid regulators and chemotherapy drugs. There are very limited environmental toxicity data for the majority of pharmaceutical chemicals. The overall goal of this project is to evaluate the risk associated with pharmaceuticals in the estuarine environment. This risk assessment will include the development of methods for the detection of these compounds in the estuarine environment as well an assessment of their potential for toxicity in estuarine organisms.
Expected Outcome: This research will benefit environmental risk assessors and managers by increasing awareness of the occurrence and potential toxicity of pharmaceutical compounds and will be useful for evaluating the risk associated with these compounds in estuaries.
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Ongoing
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PI: Key, Pete -NOAA/NOS/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
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