SafetyIssues Personal and Public Safety News Articles: Are There Drugs in Drinking Water?

Are There Drugs in Drinking Water?
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Staff writer for safetyissues.com on 03/09/08 07:30:00
 
The survey covered the 50 largest cities in the country, major water providers
in 12 areas, and small community water providers in all 50 states. Some key
findings were:
* Treated drinking water in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania yielded positive results
for 56 drugs or their byproducts, while 63 drugs were detected in the city’s
watersheds. These included drugs for pain, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and
heart problems.
* Treated drinking water provided to 18.5 million people in Southern California
contained medications for epilepsy and anxiety.
* Water in a drinking water treatment plant in Northern New Jersey contained
metabolized medicines for heart conditions and mood stabilization.
* Water of San Francisco, California tested positive for a sex hormone.
* Water for Washington, D.C. and surrounding areas contained 6 drugs.
Even users of bottled water and home filtration systems are still exposed. Home
filtration systems do not include treatment for pharmaceuticals. According to a
nonprofit group, Food and Water Watch, more than 40 percent of bottled water is
simply repackaged tap water. In addition, bottlers also do not test or treat
their water for pharmaceuticals, according to the bottling industry’s main
trade association.
How Drugs Get into Water
When people take their medicines, their bodies do not absorb all of the
medication. The excess is eliminated from the body and is flushed down the
toilet. The wastewater is of course treated before being discharged into water
reservoirs or other bodies of water, but not for drugs. Drinking water treatment
plants get their water from reservoirs, lakes, or rivers, treat it, and
distribute it to consumers.
All water treatment plants insist that they pass all federal and state
regulations on drinking water quality. But these regulations include trace
drugs. Thus, neither the sewage treatment plants (before discharge into
reservoirs, etc.) nor the drinking water treatment plants (after drawing from
reservoirs, etc.) test or treat for drugs.
There is still plenty of skepticism whether trace concentrations, as found in
drinking water, will be harmful to humans. But scientific circles are
increasingly concerned that certain drugs, or combinations of drugs, may
ultimately be harmful over several decades because people consume water in
significant amounts each day.
What is known from existing research is that pharmaceuticals in waterways, at
concentrations lower than reported in the Associated Press study, are damaging
aquatic species.
Safety Tips:
* Dispose of unused drugs by diluting them in coffee grounds or plain water,
placing them in a watertight container and throwing them in the garbage. Do not
flush them down the toilet.
* Use reverse osmosis home kits to filter drugs out of tap water. Common home
water filter are not meant to filter out drugs.