Acronym PHARMASEA
Category
Fisheries
Title Presence, behavior and risk assessment of pharmaceuticals in marine ecosystems Programme International Cooperation
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National-European Coordinator Francesco Regoli Coordinator email f.regoli@univpm.it
Coordinator institution
UNIVPM - Polytechnic University of Marche (Italy)
Institutions involved
IEO - Spanish Institute of Oceanography (Spain) ,
UDC - University of A Coruña (Spain) ,
NA - University of Heidelberg (Germany) ,
UiS - University of Stavanger (Norway) ,
Start year 2021 End year 2024 Funding (€) € 1,197,451 Website https://www.pharmasea-aquatpoll.eu/ Summary PHARMASEA integrates international expertise to answer key research questions on fate and biological effects of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), well recognized contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) for marine ecosystems. The project will allow in-depth studies on APIs distribution, effects and risks in four European coastal areas, targeting (1) occurrence, uptake and trophic transfer along regional marine food webs; (2) bioaccumulation/excretion kinetics, potential ecotoxicological effects from molecular to individual levels, and characterization of modes-of-action in model and selected marine species; (3) development of specific risk assessment procedures for APIs.
The communication and connection with industries, private and public stakeholders as well as citizen engagement are important aims to promote public awareness, pre-normative research and implementation into European Directives. The project is expected to have a major impact enhancing the scientific knowledge and awareness on interactions between human and environmental health. The results could influence prescribing and disposal practices of domestic medicines and increase market opportunities and competitiveness of European pharma industries investing on environmental sustainability of their products.
One of the aims of PHARMASEA is to measure the presence, distribution, fate of APIs in marine ecosystems, the transfer from inland sources and their behavior unravelling relationships between their occurrence in the water column, sediments as well as biota and the trophic transfer along food webs. These aspects will be investigated at a European-wide geographical scale including the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea. The project will also characterize the main factor that modulate the bioavailability and fate of APIs, including uptake/excretion kinetics, biotransformation and tissue translocation, biological effects and modes-of-action. Such studies will allow the development of an integrated risk assessment procedure with identification of priority APIs, long-term adverse alterations and cumulative effects of API mixtures. Raising public awareness on the ecological risk of APIs is within the core experience of all partners, who are actively involved in both the above research initiatives and science communication to guarantee the achievement of scientific objectives, and also sound advisory support to political and territorial agencies at both national and European levels.
Keywords
Toxic substances;
Impacts;
Food web;
Risk assessment;
Marine Region
45
Southern Adriatic Sea (GSA 18)
53
Northern Spain (GSA 6)
52
Northern Alboran Sea (GSA 1)
74
Northern Adriatic (GSA 17)
33
Bay of Biscay Southern (27.VIIIc)
13
Northern North Sea (27.IVa)
6
Marine Region Map
