Pharmaceuticals discovered in water of 24 metro areas / LJWorld.com

Archive for Monday, March 10, 2008

By Jeff Donn, Martha Mendoza and Justin Pritchard - Associated Press Writers

March 10, 2008

A vast array of pharmaceuticals - including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones - have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.

But the presence of so many prescription drugs - and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen - in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.

In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas - from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit to Louisville, Ky.

How drugs get in water

Water providers rarely disclose results of pharmaceutical screenings unless pressed, the AP found. For example, the head of a group representing major California suppliers said the public "doesn't know how to interpret the information" and might be unduly alarmed.

How do the drugs get into the water?

People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue.

And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies - which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public - have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife.

"We recognize it is a growing concern, and we're taking it very seriously," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, assistant administrator for water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Members of the AP National Investigative Team reviewed hundreds of scientific reports, analyzed federal drinking water databases, visited environmental study sites and treatment plants and interviewed more than 230 officials, academics and scientists. They also surveyed the nation's 50 largest cities and a dozen other major water providers, as well as smaller community water providers in all 50 states.

Key results

Here are some of the key test results obtained by the AP:

¢ Officials in Philadelphia said testing there discovered 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts in treated drinking water, including medicines for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems. Sixty-three pharmaceuticals or byproducts were found in the city's watersheds.

¢ Anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications were detected in a portion of the treated drinking water for 18.5 million people in Southern California.

¢ Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey analyzed a Passaic Valley Water Commission drinking water treatment plant, which serves 850,000 people in Northern New Jersey, and found a metabolized angina medicine and the mood-stabilizing carbamazepine in drinking water.

¢ A sex hormone was detected in San Francisco's drinking water.

¢ The drinking water for Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas tested positive for six pharmaceuticals.

The situation is undoubtedly worse than suggested by the positive test results in the major population centers documented by the AP.

No testing required

The federal government doesn't require any testing and hasn't set safety limits for drugs in water. Of the 62 major water providers contacted, the drinking water for only 28 was tested. Among the 34 that haven't: Houston, Chicago, Miami, Baltimore, Phoenix, Boston and New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, which delivers water to 9 million people. Some providers screen only for one or two pharmaceuticals, leaving open the possibility that others are present.

The AP's investigation also indicates that watersheds, the natural sources of most of the nation's water supply, also are contaminated.

Discussion

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10 March 2008
at 10:10 a.m.

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bondmen (Anonymous) says…

Of course San Fransicko has sex hormones in its water - it's probably mandated by the Board of County Stupervisors and recommended by mayor Newscum! What the report didn't reveal is they're metro sexual whoremones designed to produce Arnold's famous girlieboys! Where else would all those Berzerkley brownshirts come from?

Hey, don't get too bent out of shape, I'm just having a bit of Monday fun.
10 March 2008
at 1:27 p.m.

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WHY (Anonymous) says…

I just got a drink from the water fountain and I am already feeling less anxious, less depressed, pain free, and not pregnant. We should market it as super water.
10 March 2008
at 1:53 p.m.

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notajayhawk (Anonymous) says…

Just a thought:

These drugs get into our drinking water after being expelled from the users' bodies in waste.

Uh - is that really the most serious ingredient in human waste we're concerned with being in the water we drink?
10 March 2008
at 2:55 p.m.

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autie (Anonymous) says…

I don't reckon I would worry so much about pharmo drugs as I would the atrazine and other chemicals.
10 March 2008
at 3:19 p.m.

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Multidisciplinary (Anonymous) says…

Pudget Sound during the holidays, they pick up antidepressants, something, and cinnamon.
10 March 2008
at 3:45 p.m.

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acoupstick (Anonymous) says…

“Uh - is that really the most serious ingredient in human waste we're concerned with being in the water we drink?”

Yes! Water treatment facilities are adept at removing organic impurities from water. Even water deemed non-potable usually passes stringent tests and can be safely consumed, but usually isn't due to the “ewwww!” factor. Hormones, fertilizers, and pharmaceuticals are much more difficult to remove from the water supply. Additionally, they become more concentrated in organisms as the move up the food chain (see DDT), possibly causing all kinds of problems we have not yet foreseen.
10 March 2008
at 4:32 p.m.

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notajayhawk (Anonymous) says…

acoupstick;

Somehow I consider fertilizers (see DDT) in my drinking water more worrisome than a couple of parts per trillion of a pharmaceutical intended for human consumption.