Waste-derived compost may contain prescription pharmaceuticals. Such residues are also present in conventional sewage treatment effluent. This could contaminate groundwater. Among the medications that have been found in groundwater in recent years are antibiotics, antidepressants, blood thinners, ACE inhibitors, calcium-channel blockers, digoxin, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, Ibuprofen, caffeine, carbamazepine, fibrates and cholesterol-reducing medications. Between 30% and 95% of pharmaceuticals medications are excreted by the human body. Medications that are lipophilic (dissolved in fats) are more likely to reach groundwater by leaching from fecal wastes. Sewage treatment plants remove an average of 60% of these medications.Encyclopedia of Quantitative Risk Analysis and Assessment, Volume 1, edited by Edward L. Melnick, Brian S. Veritt, 2008 The percentage of medications degraded during composting of waste has not yet been reported.
