Using the fish plasma model for comparative hazard identification for pharmaceuticals in the environment by extrapolation from human therapeutic data.

Thousands of drugs are currently in use, but only for a few of them experimental chronic fish data exist. Therefore, Huggett et al. (Human Ecol Risk Assess 2003; 9:1789-1799) proposed the fish plasma model (FPM) to extrapolate the potential of unintended long-term effects in fish.

Highly active human pharmaceuticals in aquatic systems: A concept for their identification based on their mode of action.

Widespread occurrence of traces of pharmaceuticals (ng/L to microg/L) has been reported in aquatic systems. However, their effects on the environment and their environmental risks remain elusive. Generally, the acute toxicity towards non-target organisms has been assessed in laboratory experiments, but chronic toxicity studies have been performed only rarely.