Pharmaceutical Contamination in European Groundwater and Drinking Water

Pharmaceuticals and their transformation products (TPs) are especially relevant contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) due to their engineered bioactivity and their widespread presence in diverse environments. Trace levels of pollution from pharmaceutical compounds is a global problem, and the presence of these chemicals in drinking water is particularly concerning as this is an important pathway for human exposure. Additionally, contamination in groundwater is particularly relevant, as many countries, including Denmark, rely on it as a critical drinking water source. Thus, understanding the nature of pharmaceutical pollution in aquatic matrices is crucial. With this goal in mind, this paper aims to summarize the extent of pharmaceutical pollution in European drinking and groundwater by conducting a literature review, which includes 25 studies that detected pharmaceutical compounds via either gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS) or liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). This review highlights concentration ranges and detection frequencies. It also discusses key pharmaceuticals, including carbamazepine, sulfamethoxazole, metformin, ibuprofen, diclofenac and phenazone. Additionally, publicly available data published by the German Environment Agency, Umweltbundesamt in the PHARMS-UBA database, is utilized to expand the overview of medicine residue pollution in European groundwater and drinking water and consider the toxicological implications of these findings for public health. Lastly, research gaps are identified and a path forward using advanced analytical methods to expand the evaluated chemical space and improve toxicological and ecotoxicological insights is proposed with the overall aim of improving protection for human and environmental health.