PHARMACEUTICALS – a prediction tool for harmful pharmaceutical discharge

We have developed a new risk assessment IT-tool – PHARMACEUTICALS to predict the concentrations of human drugs in wastewater and the environment.

Pharmaceuticals pose an environmental risk due to their inherent properties. Aquatic organisms can be especially susceptible to the mode of action of specific pharmaceuticals (for example, hormones). For risk assessment purposes, it’s crucial to know the environmental concentrations of these chemicals. However, chemical analyses are expensive and analytical methods are not developed for many pharmaceuticals.

‘PHARMACEUTICALS’ is a risk assessment IT-tool that can predict the concentrations of human drugs in wastewater and other water environments. The predictions are based on consumption data from hospitals and pharmacies. The tool can point out which pharmaceuticals pose the highest risk for the local water environment. It can also help to estimate local environmental consequences of planned new hospital constructions.

Through easily accessible consumption data, PHARMACEUTICALS provides cost-effective estimations of pharmaceutical concentrations in the environment.