Rich countries should help poorer countries deal with the risk posed by pharmaceutical contamination of the environment, says an Australian expert.

Dr Rai Kookana, an environmental chemist with the CSIRO, made the comments following the release of a study published in a recent issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.

The study is the first to compare the risk of pollution from drugs, including antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and antidepressants, in high-income and lower-income countries around the world.

Read more at http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/12/18/4145868.htm