A critical review of pharmaceutical pollutants in soil and air: Ecotoxicological impacts on animal, plant and microbial communities - health hazards and waste management

Authors

• Md Faisal Amin, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• Md. Saydur Rahman, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2026

Abstract

Pharmaceutical contamination in soil and air has become a critical environmental concern due to its widespread sources, complex behavior, and long-lasting ecological impacts. This review comprehensively explores the presence, fate, and effects of pharmaceutical compounds in soil, highlighting their entry routes, environmental persistence, and biological consequences. Pharmaceuticals infiltrate terrestrial and aquatic environments through various pathways, including agricultural application, pharmaceutical manufacturing waste, sewage sludge, hospital and household discharges, irrigation with contaminated water, and atmospheric deposition. A wide range of drug classes, such as antibiotics, analgesics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antidepressants, anticancer drugs, and hormones, have been identified in both soil and air matrices worldwide. The review highlights key processes that affect pharmaceutical behavior in the environment, including adsorption of soil particles, degradation, leaching into deeper layers, airborne deposition, and bioaccumulation in organisms. These processes significantly influence their environmental mobility and toxicity. The presence of pharmaceuticals alters soil microbial communities, reduces biodiversity, and disrupts plant growth and crop productivity. Furthermore, terrestrial animals and wildlife exposed to airborne pharmaceutical residues face physiological and behavioral disturbances, raising significant ecological and health concerns. This review also highlights the urgent need for interdisciplinary research to better understand the dynamics of pharmaceuticals in soil and their long-term implications for ecosystem health and sustainability. It also recommends innovative strategies to minimize contamination, including advanced waste-treatment technologies and sustainable pharmaceutical practices. Overall, the review provides valuable insights into an underexplored dimension of pharmaceutical pollution, aiming to inform future policy development and environmental protection efforts.

Comments

© 2025 The Authors. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi Communications Co. Ltd.      

Recommended Citation

Amin, Md Faisal, and Md Saydur Rahman. “A Critical Review of Pharmaceutical Pollutants in Soil and Air: Ecotoxicological Impacts on Animal, Plant and Microbial Communities - Health Hazards and Waste Management.” Environmental Pollution and Management 3 (December 2026): 70–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epm.2025.11.001.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Publication Title

Environmental Pollution and Management

DOI

10.1016/j.epm.2025.11.001