Look around your bathroom at the vast array of toiletries, perfumes, deodorants and skin care products. Open your medicine cabinet and see the range of painkillers, contraceptive pills, analgesics and stomach care products.  Now imagine the number of these products distributed throughout the UK and consider that all of them will eventually end up in the sewer via the toilet, sink or shower.  

Their ultimate fate is in the river and then the sea.  You will understand why concern is growing about the potential environmental impact of what are known as PPCPs (pharmaceuticals and personal care products). 

Water Companies continue to invest heavily and the chemical quality of UK rivers is continuing to improve, over the past three years, such that 79% of river length is now of good quality.  By contrast, the more rigorous measure of biological quality has remained unchanged at 72% of river length over this same period.  More detailed analysis of aquatic environments has shown a widespread presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products.  Their annual consumption ranges from a few kilograms to several hundred tons per individual. These compounds are a persistent presence due to their continual discharge into the aquatic environment. 

Future UK obligations under the Water Framework Directive will require removal of these compounds to background levels and the investment required to achieve this will be large.  As the problem is a worldwide one, there is a significant European interest in becoming a technology leader in view of the size of the global market.   Aqua Enviro’s  conference is intended to ensure delegates will:  be aware of the origin of PCP’s and their fate during wastewater treatment;  understand the potential risk of PCP’s in sewage effluent  to the aquatic environment;  learn of the necessity to remove these compounds in order to meet our WFD obligations and identify the business  opportunities for removal technologies and strategies. 

The Fate of Pharmaceutical, Personal Care Products (PCPs) and Endocrine Disrupters in Wastewater Treatment Conference takes place on Tuesday 16th February in Leeds. 
Organised by Aqua Enviro and Sponsored by MWH
For more details: Web: www.aquaenviro.com  Ph: 01924 257 891 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it