University Honors

There are many pollutants in our water, pharmaceuticals being one of the main contributors to the pollution. This literature review quantifies some of the pharmaceuticals (Acetaminophen, Naproxen, and Diclofenac) that are introduced into our water, tracks their excretions through the body, their degradation by wastewater treatment, and determines if they persist in the environment. This was done by looking at various research papers and compiling information related to excretion rates, degradation rates, and more to develop into sankey diagrams tracking the fate of these pharmaceuticals. This research found that of the three drugs investigated, only Naproxen persisted in the environment after a year.