UNEP United Nations Environment Programme Committee: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Topic B: Pharmaceutical water contamination Written by: Daniella de la Garza, Barbara Puente and Diego Morales I. Committee Background The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), also known as UN Environment, was created to lead and embolden partnerships related to the environment by encouraging and advocating for its preservation. It was established on June 5th, 1972 during the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, the agency is currently lead by Joyce Msuya, Tanzanian microbiologist and environmental scientist (About UN Environment, UN Environment, 2019). The agency has helped draft various guidelines on air pollution, the use of dangerous chemicals and water contamination. It also supports academic research related to the environment by funding studies and research (Sundholm, UN Youth Envoy, 2019. One the committee’s most significant achievements is the creation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which conducts studies that contribute to the work of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the leading international treaty on climate change (UNFCCC, 2014). Currently, UNEP is focused on the reduction of climate change, pollution, natural disasters, exposure to deadly chemicals, as well as environmental governance, resource efficiency and ecosystem management (About UN Environment, UN Environment, 2019). II. Topic Information A) History of the Topic Pharmaceuticals are chemicals, both natural and synthetic, used in the creation of prescription medicines. These chemicals have caused concern around the world due to the way that they are being disposed of, creating what is known as “drug pollution or pharmaceutical water contamination” (Pharmaceutical Products, WHO, 2019). Though most of this discharge comes from poorly attended factories and those that create generic medicines, pharmaceuticals can also enter the environment through human consumption and excretion of drugs, improper disposal (down sinks and toilets) or emissions produced by manufacturers. These medicines are engineered with active ingredients that have the purpose of remaining unchanged, and persisting inside the body of either an animal or person. Unfortunately, the same strength that helps them survive inside an organization is also the strength that preserves them out of one, creating as a consequence the build-up of pharmaceuticals in the environment, mostly in waterways (Health Care Without Harm, 2015). Although pharmaceutical residues have been found in water for more than forty years, research on how these affect our bodies as well as our overall society has just been emerging. That is why pharmaceutical water contamination is considered a new issue. Papers of analysis on the subject have increased in number significantly since 1996. Moreover, a notable improvement of analytical instruments, isolation procedures and abilities to detect pharmaceutical traces has taken place throughout the years. This has lead to further demonstrate the importance of the issue (NACWA, 2019). The limited occurrence data for such a diverse group of pharmaceuticals in water is a challenge in assessing potential risks to human health. Implementing monitoring programmes is currently not possible due to substantial costs, lack of human resources, infrastructure, and standardized sampling and analysis protocols to support monitoring studies (Information Sheet, WHO, 2019). Pharmaceutical water contamination creates not only environmental problems but also social and economic ones. Behavioral alterations in animals have been observed, and the correct functioning of our ecosystem is at risk. An example is how steroids from human contraceptives that are found in water affect the fertility and development of fish, reptiles and aquatic invertebrates, this not only negatively affects sea life but also leads to possible economic issues such as lack of fish to sell in some countries that depend on these animals to have a stable economy (Ecosystems and Human Well-Being, WHO, 2005). Significant consequences of pharmaceutical water contamination have not been yet observed, but scientists are convinced that if the problem is not solved soon, we could be at risk to suffer from a big crisis. Everything and everyone could be affected by this issue directly or indirectly. Water quality is not only supposed to be optimal for us to drink, but we also need it to produce crops, maintain our hygiene, and keep the cities clean. This issue has also increased antimicrobial resistance, which is the ability of a microbe to get no effect whatsoever over any medication. If this keeps growing, humans will become resistant to antibiotics, making these medicines ineffective and unable to cure common diseases (Antibiotic Resistance, WHO, 2018). Research has been done for new technologies and removal methods for pharmaceutical compounds. However, there are no solutions for removing these contaminants yet; some of these methods are just beginning to develop. Moreover, the limited occurrence data of pharmaceuticals in water becomes a challenge when it comes to coming up with practical solutions. The high costs of implementing monitoring programmes make it currently not possible to be done, adding the lack of human resources, infrastructure and protocols to support the studies and recollection of data (Pharmaceuticals in Drinking-Water, WHO, 2011). In the intervening period in which more stable solutions are found, countries around the world have taken the initiative to these chemicals. For instance, states in the European Union (EU) have included on their “watch list” the three following drugs: Diclofenac, Ethinyl Estradiol, and Estradiol, all of them part of the Top 10 drugs found in waterways since 2015 (Owens, The Pharmaceutical Journal, 2015). Additionally, the AESGP has created the Eco-Pharmaco- Stewardship, an environmental management programme. The EU has passed a new law which requires companies to conduct an assessment to eradicate the ecological risk this might potentially have. Countries such as Sweden now need doctors to prescribe the least damaging medicines available (EFPIA, 2015). Corporations such as AstraZeneca have also created programs like ‘Ecopharmacovigilance’ with the purpose to track down the newest updates on the effects the drugs might have. Many countries have also donated money to an initiative in the EU who is looking to create new technology that screen the properties this chemicals have to help in the development of the latest drugs (Owens, The Pharmaceutical Journal, 2015). Concerned about this issue, the United Nations has created the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. This convention was adopted in 2001 by more than 170 countries and implemented in 2004. The conference requires all states to take different means to restrict and eliminate the production and selling of potentially hazardous chemicals (29 listed in the convention) for the environment. As part of the agreement, all chemicals and medicines added to Annex A of the list will be banned. There have been several meetings after adopting the convention with the first being in 2005, where different and specific measures and procedures have been implemented depending on the separate Annex there are (Chem Safety Pro, 2019). B) Current Issues Australia: Australia suffers greatly from pharmaceutical water contamination. Researchers led by Erinn Richmond, a chemist from Australia’s Monash University, detected the traces of 69 different medicines in insects collected from six streams across Melbourne, Australia (Solly, Smithsonian, 2018). They say it is possible an even more significant number of drugs could be found in the water since the team only tested for the presence of 98 compounds. Moreover, invertebrates were not the only animals that were seen with the presence of pharmaceuticals in their systems. Larger animals that prey on these marine insects have also been found to be affected by the issue. Fish were estimated to ingest almost 30% of a human’s daily dose of medication regularly, while a platypus living in the most contaminated water will encounter exposure to 50% of an adult’s daily dose of antidepressants (Smith, ABC News, 2018). The effects these medications could have on wildlife are not entirely known yet, but the research has shown that amphetamines and antidepressants could change the normal timing it takes for aquatic insects’ to become adults, while Valium, amphetamine, and LSD can make spiders’ web-weaving abilities less effective. Antidepressants have also been proved to leave shore crabs less suspicious of predators and perch increasingly restless (Solly, Smithsonian, 2018). Canada: According to Health Canada, traces of antibiotics, estrogen, antidepressants, and other compounds are being found in Canada's water system. The samples, taken across Ontario from sewage effluent, contained pharmaceutical compounds like ASA, antidepressants and blood-pressure medications; and chemicals from products such as cosmetics and shampoos, veterinary medicines, food additives, and genetically modified foods. A scientist from the government announced that even though there is still a lot to discover about the issue, there is evidence that there has been some damage to the environment. For example, according to the executive director of the National Water Research Institute in Burlington, Ont.,