Pharmaceutical Pollution in Aquatic Ecosystems: Public Health Risks and Sustainable Solutions
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 877
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to invite submissions for this Special Issue addressing the critical nexus between pharmaceutical pollution in water bodies and human health impacts. As active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) increasingly contaminate rivers, lakes, and groundwater via wastewater, agricultural runoff, and improper waste disposal. Their presence poses direct threats to public health, disease prevention, and community well-being. This Issue seeks research that bridges environmental science and health protection, offering actionable strategies to mitigate risks.
We welcome original studies, reviews, and case studies that explore
- Pharmaceutical waste streams in wastewater and their environmental fate;
- Cost-effective technologies for API removal in water treatment, with evidence of health risk reduction;
- Circular economy approaches for reducing drug pollution from solid waste;
- Advanced treatment technologies for pharmaceutical contaminants in waste-derived effluents;
- Regulatory gaps and extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes for medication disposal;
This interdisciplinary call targets researchers in public health, environmental medicine, ecotoxicology, and water engineering. Submissions must explicitly connect findings to health promotion, disease prevention, or quality-of-life improvements, aligning with the journal's mission.
Dr. Marcos Paulo Gomes Mol
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- pharmaceutical pollution
- public health
- ecotoxicology
- antimicrobial resistance
- wastewater pollution
- water contamination
- aquatic ecosystems pollution
- human exposure pathways
- pollution prevention
- water treatment technologies
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