Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in Water

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are being discovered in our Nation's waters at very low concentrations. Pharmaceuticals refer to prescription and over-the-counter therapeutic drugs and veterinary drugs. Personal care products refer to products used for personal and cosmetic reasons such as soaps, fragrances, and cosmetics.

We are responding to the issues of PPCPs in water with a four-pronged strategy aimed at:

1. improving science;
2. improving public understanding;
3. identifying partnership and stewardship opportunities; and
4. taking regulatory action when appropriate.

Managing Unused Pharmaceuticals

• Best Management Practices for Unused Pharmaceuticals at Health Care Facilities - Draft for Public Comment
• Health Care Industry Unused Pharmaceuticals Detailed Study 2007-2009 Data Collection and Outreach (PDF) (17 pp, 164K)
• Interim Report on Unused Pharmaceuticals in the Health Care Industry (PDF) (17 pp, 409K) August 2008 [c2]
• Universal Waste Rule November 2008 [c3]

National Academy of Sciences (NAS)

• NAS/National Research Council (NRC) Workshop on Approaches to Screening for Risk from Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water

World Health Organization (WHO)

• World Health Organization (WHO) Work Group Report on Pharmaceuticals in drinking water

Fish Tissue

• Pilot Study of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Fish Tissue in Five Urban Streams
• Expanded Investigations of Pharmaceuticals in Fish Tissue

Aquatic Life

• Aquatic Life Criteria for Contaminants of Emerging Concern: Challenges and Recommendations

Sewage Sludge/Biosolids

• Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey (TNSSS)

Analytical Methods

• PPCP Methods Development August 2008

Other

• Treating Contaminants of Emerging Concern - A Literature Review Database
• Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) Wastewater Sampling Study
• Take-back Programs or Events for Unneeded or Expired Pharmaceuticals
• Water Quality Cooperative Agreements
•  Federal Collaboration MOU on Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water (PDF) (10 pp, 1.7MB) December 2012