Environment Canada's National Water Research Institute (NWRI) is Canada's preeminent freshwater research facility, the largest in the country with centres on the shores of the Great Lakes in Burlington, Ontario and in the heart of the Canadian Prairies in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. From these vantage points, NWRI extends its influence across Canada and beyond, leading world-class research on freshwater issues.

It has been known for over 20 years that pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are released into the environment, however only in the last 10 years have analytical methods become sufficiently sensitive to identify and quantify their presence in wastewater treatment plant effluents, surface waters, drinking water, ground water, biosolids, agricultural manures, and biota. The presence of PPCPs in the environment has emerged as a societal issue, but the science with respect to exposure and impacts is still evolving.

The subject of the current report was based on a third National Workshop entitled "Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Canadian Environment: Research and Policy Directions" which took place March 5th to 7th, 2007 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. This Workshop assessed the current state of Canada's research on PPCPs in the environment in government, academia and industry sectors.