Contamination of Aquatic Ecosystem with Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Micropollutants

The event of micropollutant occurrence in the water ecosystem from the past few decades has become a matter of solicitude. Micropollutants are the emerging contaminants that include an array of anthropogenic and natural substances, particularly pharmaceutical products like antibiotics and personal care products. Studies suggest that consumption of products containing pharmaceutical compounds is metabolized in the body and is eventually released into water bodies via urine and feces. The presence of micropollutants in the water bodies is linked with an array of short- and long-term toxicity in living beings and antibiotic resistance in pathogenic microorganisms. The wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) practices adopted are not particularly tailored to remove micropollutants of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). Thus, several micropollutants pass through the treatment process. Moreover, owing to persisting nature and continuous introduction, they are often detected in aquatic environment. Presently, the guidelines and standards regarding discharge of most of the micropollutants do not exist. Moreover, comprehensive scenarios on existence of various micropollutants in water bodies and their elimination via existing treatment processes are not well documented. The present chapter attempts to furnish details on the contamination of aquatic ecosystems with PPCP micropollutants, discusses their impact on humans and the environment, and delineates the role of bioremediation in their management.