Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PCPs) are chemically modified
products mostly used for beauty, cleaning, or health, such as disinfectants, fragrances,
insect repellents, ultraviolet (UV) filters, and others. Due to the contamination caused
by these chemically amended PCPs, water pollution has appeared as a hazardous
condition for the water treatment and supply sector. A recent concern is that when these
chemical compounds combine with water, they act as water pollutants and harm
aquatic lives and the survival of human lives. Nowadays, the concern of water pollution
by these chemicals is confined to water treatment complexities this contamination is
leaving adverse effects on the environment. Most of these water pollutants borne by
sewage effluents through wastewater plants develop because of the insufficient
removal from treatment plants. Therefore, the emerging water pollutants caused by
PCPs are responsible for environmental pollution. Hence, this chapter emphasized the
state-of-the-art global application of PCPs, the mechanism of water pollution by PCPs,
possible biohazards, and negative impacts on the environment. Besides that, various
types of PCPs, along with the most applied chemical compounds in PCPs, have been
discussed in this chapter. To minimize the contamination, suitable removal methods to
enhance the removal efficacy have been discussed. The chapter also presents a future
perspective for reducing the PCP contamination of surface water with cutting-edge
technologies and wastewater treatment.
Keywords: Water pollutants, Pharmaceutical products, Personal care products, Surface water, Wastewater treatment technologies.
