Climate Cafe 1: Pharmaceutical Residues in Marine Environments

More than 98% of Danish marine areas are assessed as not being in good chemical condition - contaminated by heavy metals, PFAS and industrial chemicals. But there is a pollution source that rarely receives attention: pharmaceutical residues.

Pain relievers, antidepressants, cholesterol-lowering drugs and diabetes medication are partially excreted through urine and faeces. Treatment plants do not remove all these substances, and they therefore end up in streams, fjords and seas, where fish, mussels, crustaceans and other aquatic organisms are exposed to a constant mix of pharmaceuticals. Research shows that it affects the animals' behaviour, growth, reproduction and feeding.

Henriette Selck, professor at Roskilde University and senior consultant at the think tank Hav, will give the lecture. She draws on Danish and international research and also looks at what can be done to limit the discharge.

The event takes place in the Rampen room at Hovedbiblioteket in Aarhus.