Ecological problems associated with personal care products and the role of microbes in aquatic environment

Abstract

In the present world, everyone is health, hygiene, and beauty conscious. Most households use different personal care products (PCPs) to keep themselves clean and hygienic. But when it comes to disposal, not much care is taken. PCPs are being liberated into the environment on a regular basis causing harm to the ecosystem. The prevalence of these PCPs as soaps, nail paints, hair dyes, fragrances, emulsifiers, antioxidants, ultraviolet absorbers, preservatives, disinfectants, etc. is posing severe health concerns. It has been studied that together these PCPs being biologically active and highly persistent, in turn impacts the lives of living beings. This review work aimed to elucidate and analyze the problems associated with personal care products when discharged into the aquatic system from different sources that cause detrimental effects on the organisms at different trophic levels and on human beings which has been included in this discussion, the variety of sources and how they impact the aquatic life as well as the movement of the emerging toxicants to the higher trophic levels through the food chain. This work also has analyzed the bioremediation of a few toxicants like, paraben, phthalate, sulphate by some potential microorganisms and the limitations in the microbial remediation process.