Monitoring priority of a wide variety of pharmaceuticals was determined in regard to the probability of occurrence in water sources and drinking water in Japan. One hundred and twenty six pharmaceuticals currently in Japanese market, i.e. prescription drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, veterinary drugs and antibiotics for aquaculture were chosen by literature review and database search. Six evaluation criteria were selected for the determination of monitoring priority of the pharmaceuticals based on occurrence in water sources and drinking water, as well as possible impacts on human health, i.e. annual production, human urinary excretion, octanol-water partition coefficient (log Kow), biodegradation, removal capability by conventional water treatments, and minimum daily therapeutic dose (or acceptable daily intake (ADI) if available). Methodology of the prioritization adopted in this study were found to be appropriate because all of the six pharmaceuticals (i.e., amantadine, carbamazepine, epinastine, ibuprofen, iopamidol and oseltamivir acid) detected in finished drinking water in Japan appeared among the top 25 on the monitoring priority list. Further field investigations on the high-priority pharmaceuticals should be considered to elucidate the overall picture of residual pharmaceuticals in water environment and drinking water, and their potential implications for human health.

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