Contaminantes orgánicos emergentes en el ambiente: productos farmaceuticos

waste materials from pharmaceutical products are an environmental problem due to their persistence and distribution in water, soil, air and food. the use of those products in hospitals, veterinarian clinics and homes, increase their discharges and also those of their transformation products into the environment and their toxicity affects life in ecosystems. the development of sample treatment methods and instrumental analysis techniques have allowed their low concentrations monitoring throughout all of the components of aquatic, ecosystems, the soil and their biomagnifications in food chains. likewise, in vitro and in vivo tests are made to determine their ecotoxicity, classifying them as emerging pollutants which discharges are not accountable, but which impact on ecosystems is chronic and highly harmful for health worldwide. this revision gathers research works made during the last 10 years concerning the presence of some pharmaceutical products in water bodies and also warns about the impact of pharmaceutical activities on environment.