Presentation Abstract

Overview of a Framework for Assessing the Hazards of Human Pharmaceuticals in the Environment From a SETAC Pellston Workshop
Gerald T. Ankley¹, Marsha C. Black², Jeanne Garric³, Thomas H. Hutchinson⁴, and Taisen Iguchi^5
1National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Duluth, MN;
²University of Georgia, Athens, GA;
³Laboratory for Ecotoxicology, Lyon, France;
⁴Astra-Zenica, Brixham, UK;
⁵Okazaki National Research Institute, Okazaki, Japan

To cost-effectively address the aquatic ecotoxicity of human pharmaceuticals, research is needed to identify which methods from the wide range available are best suited for use in regulatory environmental risk assessments. In some cases, the highly specific, receptor-based pharmacology of drugs may require chronic reproductive testing with fish (e.g., for some endocrine-active pharmaceuticals), whereas other classes of compounds with less specific modes of action (e.g., anaesthetics and analgesics) may be more cost-effectively addressed with short-term, sublethal tests with algae, crustaceans, and/or fish. To try to prevent an inefficient and untargeted approach to test every chemical with every method, there is a need for a focused research program to better define the most suitable species, life stages, and endpoints for an optimized scheme of pharmaceutical testing. This research could be achieved through strategic testing of a set of pharmaceutical materials representative of different key modes/mechanisms of action. This presentation will introduce a conceptual framework and list of reference pharmaceuticals that could be used to determine future testing priorities for the regulatory assessment of pharmaceutical products and complex mixtures containing drugs, their metabolites, and other substances.

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