Environmental impact of pharmaceuticals

22.10.2014

Question for written answer E-008206-14
to the Commission
Rule 130
Jørn Dohrmann (ECR)

On 13 October 2014, the UK newspaper The Guardian reported that commonly used pharmaceutical products such as contraceptive tablets and antidepressants are having adverse effects on wildlife. Birds such as starlings have been shown to eat less due to exposure to antidepressants, and fish levels have plummeted as a result of contraceptive residues in water. A number of studies by the University of Gothenburg and the University of York have shown that there has been a rise in biologically active substances in the water. For example, in some cases drug levels in effluent have even exceeded those found in the blood of people taking medication.

What steps is the EU currently taking to investigate the issue of pharmaceutical effluent in Europe’s sewage systems?