Opening the "green pharmacy".

Drugs that flow from humans into the environment may include the lingering analgesic diclofenac, the long-lasting antiepileptic carbamazepine, the omnipresent antibiotic ciprofloxacin, and even seemingly mundane painkillers like ibuprofen, gemfibrozil, and naproxen, not to mention synthetic estrogens. The problem has led to government hearings at the state and federal levels and to scientific meetings where environmental chemists, toxicologists, policy makers, and drug company executives have discussed the possible toxicity of human drugs in the environment and to humans—along with possible solutions. MIGUEL TREMBLAY, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS