Recommendations on the environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals: Effect characterization.

Abstract

The effects testing of pharmaceuticals consists of a tiered investigation of ecotoxicological endpoints. However, effects testing has to be performed only when the predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) of pharmaceuticals are above certain action limits. To study the appropriateness of these action limits, a literature search was performed for pharmaceuticals with predicted no-effect concentrations (PNECs) close to or below the action limits. Some human pharmaceuticals showed effects at concentrations ≤100 ng/L, mostly in nonstandard fish or invertebrate tests. In addition, antibiotics and parasiticides sometimes had effects at concentrations