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World Health Organization (WHO) Task Force Regarding PPCPs in Drinking Water

Contaminants of emerging concern such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), have received world-wide attention in the last couple of years. The presence of PPCPs in source and finished drinking water has generated concern among governments/regulators, member states, industry, municipalities, and the public. An increase in the use of pharmaceuticals is anticipated as the world population gets older. Also, there is an expected increase in the use of veterinary and agricultural drugs worldwide. There are a number of critical issues regarding the occurrence, human health effects, and treatment and disposal options for PPCPs in the environment, drinking water, and wastewater treatment systems.

The task force consists of scientists from Singapore, Japan, United Kingdom, Canada, Tanzania, Australia, Germany, Malaysia, Netherlands, and the United States. They will address:

  1. environmental occurrence and sources of PPCPs in finished drinking water and source water;
  2. approaches to assess health risks to vulnerable populations;
  3. environmental chemistry of PPCPs in natural waters;
  4. advances in treatment methods and analytical methods, including treatment effectiveness;
  5. availability of data and information to assess risks to human health; and
  6. existing pharmaceutical take-back and safe disposal programs to reduce water pollution.

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Related:
Research and Development in PPCPs

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