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Drug checking is a popular method to reduce risks of drug use. In many countries, including Finland, legislation restricts implementing drug checking. The aim of this study was to explore whether some benefits of drug checking could be achieved by substance residue analysis.

Drug paraphernalia (mostly empty plastic bags) were used in the study. Participants left a sample and information about the former content to a local needle exchange point. After laboratory analysis, participants could return for the results and a short consultation on the substance(s) found. Afterward, participants were asked whether they would still use the batch.

Ninety-eight samples were received. In most cases, the samples had originally been sold as amphetamine (n = 39). Overall, laboratory results matched with supposed content in 52 cases, but in 21 cases, the sold content had been altered, in 17 cases, only other psychoactive substances were found and in 8 cases, no traces of psychoactive substances were found. Participants returned for results in two-thirds of the cases. When the laboratory result did not match participants’ expectations, the majority of participants estimated they would not use the same batch (17/25) or would use it in a different way (2/25).

While reports on drug checking are numerous, studies exploring possibilities to achieve harm-reducing benefits of drug checking by analyzing drug residues are scarce. The results of this pilot study suggest some benefits of drug checking can be achieved by substance residue analysis.

All those effluent streams having compromised characteristics pose negative effects on the environment either directly or indirectly. Health care facilities and hospitals also generate a large amount of effluent like other industries containing harmful and toxic pharmaceutical residual compounds due to uncontrolled use of drugs, besides others. The occurrence of antibiotic in the environment is of utmost concern due to development of resistant genes. These get mixed up with ground and surface water due to lack of proper treatment of hospital wastewater. The effect of pharmaceutical compounds on human society and ecosystem as a whole is quite obvious. There are no strict laws regarding discharge of hospital effluent in many countries. Contrary to this, the authors do not have appropriate treatment facilities and solution to solve day by day increasing complexity of this problem. Moreover, water discharged from different health facilities having variable concentration often gets mixed with municipal sewage, thus remains partially untreated even after passing from conventional treatment plants. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the occurrences and fate of such harmful compounds, need of proper effluent management system as well as conventionally adopted treatment technologies nowadays all around the globe. This mini-review would introduce the subject, the need of the study, the motivation for the study, aim, objectives of the research and methodology to be adopted for such a study.

Hospital effluents consisting of pathogens, fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, etc, including phenols, detergents, toxic elements like cyanide and heavy metals such as copper (Cu), iron (Fe), gadolinium (Gd), nickel (Ni), platinum (Pt), among others are commonly detected nowadays. These unwanted compounds along with emerging pollutants are generally not being regulated before getting discharged caused and spread of diseases. Various chemical and biological characteristics of hospital effluents are assessed keeping in the view the threat posed to ecosystem. Several research studies have been done and few are ongoing to explore the different characteristics and compositions of these effluent streams in comparison so as to suggest the suitable conventional treatment techniques and ways to manage the problem. Several antibiotic groups such as ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, sulfa pyridine, trimethoprim, metronidazole and their metabolites are reported in higher concentration in hospital effluent. The aquatic system also receives a high concentration of pharmaceutical residues more than 14,000 μg/L from treatment plants also and other surface water or even drinking water in Indian cities. Many rivers in southern parts of India receives treated water have detected high concentration drugs and its metabolites. As far as global constraints that need to be discussed, there are only selected pharmaceuticals compounds generally analyzed, issue regarding management and detection based on method of sampling, frequency of analysis and observation, spatial as well as temporal concentration of these concerned micropollutants, accuracy in detecting these compounds, reliability of results and predictions, prioritization and the method of treatment in use for such type of wastewater stream. The complexity of management and treatment as well need to be addressed with following issues at priority: composition and characterization of effluent, compatible and efficient treatment technology that needs to be adopted and the environment risk posed by them. The problem of drugs and its residues was not seen to be reported in latter part of 20th century, but it might be reported locally in some part of globe. This paper covers some aspect about the disposal and regulatory standard around the world toward hospital effluent discharge, its managements and treatment technologies that are adopted and best suitable nowadays various industries and monitoring the efficiencies of existing treatment systems. This mini-review would introduce the subject, the need, the motivation and objectives of the study and methodology can be adopted for such a study.

The compiled review gives a complete view about the types of antibiotics used in different health care facilities, their residue formation, occurrences in different ecosystems, types of regulations or laws available in different counties related to disposal, different type of treatment technologies, innovative combined treatment schemes and future action needed to tackle such type of effluent after its generation. The thesis also highlights the use of certain innovative materials use for the treatment like nanoparticles. It also discusses about the residues impact on the human health as well as their bioaccumulative nature. If the authors relate the past to the current scenario of pharmaceutical compounds (PhACs) in the environment, the authors will certainly notice that many diseases are nowadays not curable by simple previously prescribed Ab. Many research projects have been done in European countries that have shown the risk of such residues like Pills, Sibell, Poseidon, No pills, Neptune, Knappe, Endetech, etc. In the previous section, it was mentioned that there are no stringent laws for hospital wastewater and in many countries, they are mixed with domestic wastewater. Many difficulties are there with this research due to complex analysis, detection of targeted Ab, affecting waterbodies rate of flow, nature of treatment varies with season to season. The way nature is being degraded and harmful effect are being imposed, it is important to take immediate and decisive steps in this area. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) serves as a nursery for antibiotic-resistant systems, hence monitoring with great attention is also needed. Many trials with different treatment process, in combination, were considered. Many countries are paying great attention to this topic by considering the severity of the risk involved in it.

Previous studies by several scientists show that the pharmaceutical residues in the discharged effluent displayed direct toxic effects, and sometimes, detrimental effects in the mixture were also observed. The discharge of untreated effluent from hospitals and pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the natural ecosystem poses a significant threat to human beings. The pharmaceuticals, like antibiotics, in the aquatic environment, accelerate the development of the antibiotic-resistant genes in bacteria, which causes fatal health risks to animals and human beings. Others, like analgesics, are known to affect development in fishes. They also degrade the water quality and may lead to DNA damage, toxicity in lower organisms like daphnia and have the potential to bioaccumulate. A few commonly used nanoadsorbents for water and wastewater treatment along with their specific properties can also be used. The main advantages of them are high adsorption capacity and superior efficiency, their high reusability, synthesis at room temperatures, super magnetism, quantum confinement effect as well as eco-toxicity. This review will focus on the applicability of different nanoscale materials and their uses in treating wastewater polluted by organic and inorganic compounds, heavy metals, bacteria and viruses. Moreover, the use of various nanoadsorbents and nano-based filtration membranes is also examined.

A number of different pharmaceutical residues derived from various activities like production facilities, domestic use and hospitals have been reported earlier to be present in groundwater, effluents and rivers, they include antibiotics, psycho-actives, analgesics, illicit drugs, antihistamine, etc. In past few years environmental scientists are more concerned toward the effluents generated from medical care facilities, community health centers and hospitals. Various chemical and biological characteristics of hospital effluents have been assessed keeping in the view the common threats pose by them to the entire ecosystem. In this study, seven multispecialty hospitals with nonidentical pretreatment were selected for three aspects i.e. conventional wastewater characteristics, high priority pharmaceuticals and microbial analyses. The present work is to evaluate efficacy of advanced wastewater treatment methods with regard to removal of these three aspects from hospital effluents before discharge into a sewage treatment plant (STP). Based on test results, two out of seven treatment technologies, i.e. MBR and CW effectively reducing conventional parameters and pharmaceuticals from secondary and tertiary treatments except regeneration of microbes were observed in tertiary level by these two treatments.

This review has aimed to identify the emerging contaminants, including pharmaceutical residues, highly consumed chemicals that are present in the hospital effluent, along with their physicochemical and biological characteristics. In this, the main objective was to review the occurrences and fate of common drugs and antibiotics present in effluents from hospital wastewaters. As far as global constraints that need to be discussed, there are only selected pharmaceuticals compounds generally analyzed, issue regarding management and detection based on method of sampling, frequency of analysis and observation, spatial as well as temporal concentration of these concerned micropollutants, accuracy in detecting these compounds, reliability of results and predictions, prioritization and the method of treatment in use for such type of wastewater stream are among the major issues (Akter et al., 2012; Ashfaq et al., 2016; García-Mateos et al., 2015; Liu et al., 2014; Mubedi et al., 2013; Prabhasankar et al., 2016; Sun et al., 2016; Suriyanon et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2016; Wen et al., 2004). This paper covers some aspect about the disposal and regulatory standard around the world toward hospital effluent discharge, its managements and treatment technologies that are adopted and best suitable nowadays.

This study many multispecialty hospitals with nonidentical pretreatment were selected for three aspects i.e. conventional wastewater characteristics high priority pharmaceuticals and microbial analyses. The present work is to evaluate efficacy of advanced wastewater treatment methods with regard to removal of these three aspects from hospital effluents before discharge into an STP. Based on test results, two out of different treatment effectively reducing conventional parameters and pharmaceuticals from secondary and tertiary treatments except regeneration of microbes were observed in the tertiary level by these two treatments were studies followed by ozonation and ultraviolet-ray treatment.

Elsewhere in this issue we review the First (Interim) Report of the Joint Survey of Pesticide Residues in Foodstuffs, published by the Association of Public Analysts (Editor: Mr. D. G. Forbes, B.Sc., F.R.I.C.). The Scheme, planned with meticulous care and executed with the best spirit of co‐operation, sets a pattern for this type of investigation; there are other problems which could be studied in the same manner. Such a response from the bodies representing the major local authorities of the country and their food and drugs administrations—inspectors, food sampling officers, public analysts—is evidence of the concern felt over this particular form of contamination of food. It constitutes a public health problem of world‐wide dimensions. The annual reports of public analysts show that many are examining foods outside the Survey lists now that gas/liquid chromatography, spectroscopy and other highly refined methods of analysis are available to them.

The Commission appointed jointly by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agricultural Organization continues to plod its weary way towards the establishment of Codex standards for all foods, which it is hoped will eventually be adopted by all countries, to end the increasing chaos of present national standards. We have to go back to 1953, when the Sixth World Health Assembly showed signs of a stirring of international conscience at trends in food industry; and particularly expressed “the view that the increasing use of various chemical substances had … , created a new public health problem”. Joint WHO/FAO Conferences which followed initiated inter alia international consultations and the setting up of the Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission.

Powder bed fusion (PBF) additive manufacturing (AM) has facilitated the production of medical devices with intricate geometries and patient-matched features. The medical industry especially has leveraged complex geometries for orthopedic applications. However, these geometries increase the difficulty of manufacturing residue removal. Furthermore, PBF-specific methods for residue removal and quantification have not been developed yet. This study aims to assess the use of a novel challenge assembly to evaluate PBF residue removal protocols.

A novel modular PBF challenge assembly was evaluated for its ability to resolve differences in the residue removal techniques. Several metrics were adapted from consensus standards and applied to evaluate their suitability. Though the challenge assembly can incorporate multiple complex geometries and reticulated structures, this study used the test case of regular lattice structures and two generic residue removal protocols (RRPs).

The challenge assembly successfully represented increasingly complex residue removal scenarios, showing increasing amounts of residue remaining in parts of increasing density. Simultaneous examination of multiple geometries with different residue removal difficulties can be used to design production processes. Indirect estimates of extracted residue provided some information on residue remaining. However, they were not sufficient to evaluate the part because of the high variability and uncertainty. Additional metrics proved necessary to corroborate the results during a verification phase. A carefully selected panel of metrics could provide adequate information to validate a process.

This study evaluated and demonstrated a framework to assess RRPs for complex geometries. It showed that the results of single indirect metrics such as extracted residues may provide ambiguous results across a range of parts. PBF-specific metrics for residue removal and quantification would greatly improve repeatability and certainty.

At each New Year we stand at the threshold of fresh scenes and hopes, of opportunities and pastures new. It is the time for casting off shackles and burdens that have weighed us down in the old year; almost a new chapter of life. We scan the prevailing scene for signs that will chart the year's unrolling and beyond, and hope profoundly for a smooth passage. The present is largely the product of the past, but of the future, who knows? Man therefore forever seems to be entering upon something new—a change, a challenge, events of great portent. This, of course, is what life is all about. Trends usually precede events, often by a decade or more, yet it is a paradox that so many are taken by surprise when they occur. Trends there have been and well marked; signs, too, for the discerning. In fields particular, they portend overall progress; in general, not a few bode ill.

We are growing accustomed to shock tactics of the US Administration in dealing with toxic residues in food or additives which are a hazard to man, as well as the daily press infusing sensation, even melodrama, into them, but the recent action of the FDA in calling in from the food market several million cans of tuna and other deep sea fish because of the presence of mercury has had the worthwhile effect of drawing world attention to the growing menace of environmental pollution. The level of mercury in the fish is immaterial; it should never have been there at all, but it stresses the importance of the food chain in the danger to man and animal life generally, including fish beneath the sea. Without underestimating risks of pollution in the atmosphere from nuclear fission products, from particulate matter carried in the air by inhalation or even skin absorption, food and drink, which includes aqua naturale would seem to be the greatest danger to life. What these recent events illustrate in a dramatic manner, however, is the extent of pollution.

This is indeed the age of revolution, when timeless attitudes are changing and new ways of living being born. To most it is a bewildering complex, with uneasy forbodirtgs of the outcome. Improvement and change, there must always be—although change is not necessarily progress—but with unrest in the schools, universities and industry, one naturally questions if this is the right time for such sweeping reorganization as now seems certain to take place in local government and in the structure of the national health service. These services have so far escaped the destructive influences working havoc in other spheres. Area health boards to administer all branches of the national health service, including those which the National Health Service Act, 1946 allowed local health authorities to retain, were recommended by the Porritt Committee a number of years ago, when it reviewed the working of the service.