The issue of pharmaceutical products (PPs) in the environment has gained relevance over the last decades and represents an increasing concern for environmental scientists as well as regulatory institutions. Some PPs and their residues are not removed during conventional biological treatment and enter the water supply via wastewater-treatment plants. Small concentrations of PPs have been found in drinking waters and crops. Much has been published concerning the occurrence, fate and behaviour of PPs. However, there has been little investigation on risk assessment and risk perception of PPs on the environment and human health. For risk management to be effective in improving water quality, it matters to analyse and comprehend the individual’s everyday perceptions on the risks posed by PPs and how behaviours relate to such perceptions. This will help decision makers in improving policy and governance instruments to face these challenges.
The goal of this communication is to present and discuss the results of a survey in PPs that was applied to a sample of individuals from Portugal, Spain, and France, as part of the research project Innovec’EAU (N= 509). The survey addressed, among other issues, lay people’s 1) behaviour, in concrete the self-reported procedures of pharmaceutical discarding, 2) health and environmental risk perception of PPs in the environment in general, in treated wastewaters, in fresh water, and in crops, 3) intention to act/support measures to reduce PPs, and 4) environmental identity. Descriptive analysis illustrates that most individuals reported to discard PPs adequately by returning them to pharmacy, but a considerable number reported inadequate discarding practices. The intention to act/support measures to reduce PPs was relatively high. Risk perception and environmental identity had medium values. Moderated mediation analysis, conducted using ordinary least squares path analysis, evidenced that risk perception had an indirect effect on behaviour through intention contingent on environmental identity. This indirect effect was stronger when environmental identity was higher.
Acknowledgement: Innovec’EAU Project (SOE1/P1/F0173), supported by Interreg SUDOE Programme through European Regional Development Funds (ERDF).
http://innovec-eau.univ-perp.fr/fr/menu/innovec-eau/accueil/