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Comparing Environmental Policies to Reduce Pharmaceutical Pollution and Address Disparities

Author

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  • Meghana Desai

    (Health Analytics Network LLC, Pittsburgh, PA 15237, USA)

  • Anuli Njoku

    (Department of Public Health, College of Health and Human Services, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT 06515, USA)

  • Lillian Nimo-Sefah

    (Department of Public Health, College of Health and Human Services, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT 06515, USA)

Abstract

Pharmaceutical products, including active pharmaceutical ingredients and inactive ingredients such as packaging materials, have raised significant concerns due to their persistent input and potential threats to human and environmental health. Discourse on reducing pharmaceutical waste and subsequent pollution is often limited, as information about the toxicity of pharmaceuticals in humans is yet to be fully established. Nevertheless, there is growing awareness about ecotoxicity, and efforts to curb pharmaceutical pollution in the European Union (EU), United States (US), and Canada have emerged along with waste disposal and treatment procedures, as well as growing concerns about impacts on human and animal health, such as through antimicrobial resistance. Yet, the outcomes of such endeavors are often disparate and involve multiple agencies, organizations, and departments with little evidence of cooperation, collaboration, or oversight. Environmental health disparities occur when communities exposed to a combination of poor environmental quality and social inequities experience more sickness and disease than wealthier, less polluted communities. In this paper, we discuss pharmaceutical environmental pollution in the context of health disparities and examine policies across the US, EU, and Canada in minimizing environmental pollution.

Suggested Citation

  • Meghana Desai & Anuli Njoku & Lillian Nimo-Sefah, 2022. "Comparing Environmental Policies to Reduce Pharmaceutical Pollution and Address Disparities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-15, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:14:p:8292-:d:857511
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír & Fan, Yee Van & Tan, Raymond R. & Jiang, Peng, 2020. "Minimising the present and future plastic waste, energy and environmental footprints related to COVID-19," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    2. Marcel C. Hollander & Conny A. Bakker & Erik Jan Hultink, 2017. "Product Design in a Circular Economy: Development of a Typology of Key Concepts and Terms," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 21(3), pages 517-525, June.
    3. Anuli Njoku & Marcelin Joseph & Rochelle Felix, 2021. "Changing the Narrative: Structural Barriers and Racial and Ethnic Inequities in COVID-19 Vaccination," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-14, September.
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    1. Alexandra Savuca & Ionut-Alexandru Chelaru & Ioana-Miruna Balmus & Alexandrina-Stefania Curpan & Mircea Nicusor Nicoara & Alin Stelian Ciobica, 2024. "Toxicological Response of Zebrafish Exposed to Cocktails of Polymeric Materials and Valproic Acid," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Kamel Mouloudj & Anuli Njoku & Dachel Martínez Asanza & Ahmed Chemseddine Bouarar & Marian A. Evans & Smail Mouloudj & Achouak Bouarar, 2023. "Modeling Predictors of Medication Waste Reduction Intention in Algeria: Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(16), pages 1-18, August.
    3. Aguiar, Raphael & Keil, Roger & Wiktorowicz, Mary, 2024. "The urban political ecology of antimicrobial resistance: A critical lens on integrative governance," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).

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