Where are PPCPs found in the environment?
PPCPs are found where people or animals are treated with drugs and people use personal care products. PPCPs are found in any water body influenced by raw or treated sewage, including rivers, streams, ground water, coastal marine environments, and many drinking water sources. PPCPs have been identified in most places sampled. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) implemented a national reconnaissance to provide baseline information on the environmental occurrence of PPCPs in water resources. You can find more information about this project from the USGS’s What’s in Our Wastewaters and Where Does it Go? site. PPCPs in the environment are frequently found in aquatic environments because PPCPs dissolve easily and don’t evaporate at normal temperature and pressures. Practices such as the use of sewage sludge (“biosolids”) and reclaimed water for irrigation brings PPCPs into contact with the soil.
