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Pollution of the world’s rivers by drugs and pharmaceutical products poses a “threat to the environment and global health,” said a study conducted by York University.
Paracetamol, nicotine, caffeine and medicines for epilepsy and diabetes are most commonly observed in the environment.
Rivers in Pakistan, Bolivia and Ethiopia have been among the most polluted.
Rivers in Iceland, Norway and the Amazon region have been in much better condition.
The environmental impact of many pharmaceutical compounds is still unknown.
Yet some are already known to affect fish development and production, and scientists fear that increasing the presence of antibiotics in rivers could limit the effect of the drug.
Samples were taken from 1,000 areas in more than 100 countries for the study.
In general, more than a quarter of the 258 rivers have had what are known as “pharmaceutically active ingredients” at levels considered unsafe for aquatic organisms.
The report said that increasing the presence of antibiotics in rivers could lead to the development of resistant bacteria, thus damaging the effect of drugs and threatening global health.
The most polluted areas have been those of the lowest income countries./REL
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