Potential risks and hazards posed by the pressure of pharmaceuticals and personal care products on water treatment plants

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are widely used in various industrial and commercial products, contributing to their substantial presence in the environment. In recent years, numerous studies have focused on the environmental behavior, toxicity, and removal approaches of PPCPs. Nevertheless, few studies systematically summarized the current understanding of these issues and provided suggestions and comments for future research directions. In this review, the classification and detection of PPCPs that are useful for their source, distribution, and occurrence are discussed. Moreover, this review highlights the environmental behavior, biological toxicity, and potential risk of PPCPs after entering the environment. Furthermore, we summarized the removal methods and efficiency of PPCPs and evaluated the inadequacies of current sewage treatment facilities in addressing emerging pollutants. Given the widespread application and complex component of PPCPs, they can potentially threaten water resource safety and human health risks, future research should focus on the following: (1) establishing advanced artificial intelligence statistical analysis and the detection and quantification technologies of PPCPs to more precisely predict their behavior and fate in the environment; (2) evaluating the long-term biological toxicity and human risk effect of PPCPs in terrestrial and aqueous system; and (3) developing new sewage treatment facilities and technologies to remove PPCPs from multiple environmental media.