Active pharmaceutical ingredients were first conclusively proven to be present in surface water in the 1990s. Today, according to a study by the German Federal Environmental Agency (Bundesumweltamt), more than 150 different pharmaceutical residual substances can be detected in environmental tests. Many of them are to be found in surface waters, but some in groundwater and drinking water as well. “The concentrations measured in Germany are at levels which, based on current knowledge, represent no threat to human health”, states DBU chemistry expert Dr. Maximilian Hempel. Nonetheless their established presence in water supplies is undesirable: other living beings are demonstrably harmed by the micropollutants.
Currently here in Germany - and in other industrialized nations - additional purification stages in drinking water treatment and waste water processing are being tested and introduced to remove pharmaceuticals and other trace substances. Some exemplary projects in this undertaking can be found in the contents of this newsletter. These development projects will also be exhibited at the international Environmental Fair IFAT in Munich (May 4th to May 9th) at the DBU’s trade fair stand (Hall A5, Stand 310).
