Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment in China

The introduction of bioactive chemicals from pharmaceuticals and active ingredients in personal care products (hereafter ‘PPCPs’) may pose a threat to ecosystems and human health. With advances in monitoring and detection, Chinese scientists have established PPCPs as pervasive pollutants in water bodies. While the full effects of PPCPs are not yet fully understood, concern is growing about the implications of PPCPs in the environment. This research employed a combination of environmental, social, and economic data to better understand the ecological risks and policy options, as well as the general publics’ behavior, preferences and willingness to pay for measures aimed at preventing pollution by PPCPs in China. To achieve these aims, I conducted a structured review of the published scientific literature, took a series of qualitative interviews with Chinese scientists’ working in this field and finally collected original survey data from residents living in China.
The first section of my thesis is based on the results from the structured review of the published scientific literature relating to PPCP pollution in China. This chapter provides the basis for understanding perceptions of risk among scientists and the public, and highlight what further research is needed. The second section describes the results from a series of semi-structured interviews with Chinese scientists and explores in depth their perspectives, opinions, and attitudes on current PPCP research and on future needs in the field. The third section is based on the analysis of results from a custom designed survey of Chinese residents. Results highlight that disposal of unwanted PPCPs in the trash is by far the most common disposal method and identifies significant heterogeneity in attitudes towards a proposed hypothetical disposal program. Finally the results from the contingent valuation experiment suggest a substantial willingness to pay for policy measures aimed at reducing PPCP pollution.