Pharmaceuticals in Our Water Supply Are Causing Bizarre Mutations to Wildlife

[marmar]

from E Magazine, via AlterNet:


Pharmaceuticals in Our Water Supply Are Causing Bizarre Mutations to Wildlife

By Greg Peterson, E Magazine. Posted August 9, 2007.



From inter-sex fish in the Potomac River to frog mutations in Wisconsin, federal officials are studying the effects of pharmaceuticals such as pain killers and depression medicine in our water supply.

From inter-sex fish in the Potomac River to frog mutations in Wisconsin, federal officials are spending this summer studying the effects of pharmaceuticals such as pain killers and depression medicine on the environment, because the drugs have turned up in America's drinking water.

The cumulative effect of trace amounts of pharmaceuticals and personal-care products in the water on humans isn't yet known, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking preventative measures. Pharmaceuticals have already been linked to behavioral and sexual mutations in fish, amphibians and birds, according to EPA studies.

Better sensors have revealed that trace amounts of pharmaceuticals, including narcotics, birth control, antidepressants and other controlled substances, are in the drinking water and in U.S. rivers, lakes and streams. The growing public debate on pharmaceuticals in water will heat up this summer as experts on both sideas of the issue try to convince the public that it's either much ado about nothing or another example of humans ignoring early warning signs such as deformed frogs -- the amphibian considered the canary in the coal mine when it comes to water issues.

The EPA suspects that part of the problem is consumers flushing old and unwanted drugs down toilets or drains. Americans are taking more drugs than ever -- especially the aging baby boomer generation. Pharmaceuticals were found in 80 percent of the samples taken during a U.S. Geological Survey and EPA study of 139 streams in 30 states. Many of America's wastewater treatment plants are not designed to remove pharmaceuticals and personal care products, the EPA says. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/environment/59305/

[LiberalFighter]

1. Does bottled water have those same drugs?

It does if the water companies use treated water in their production.

[Donnachaidh]

2. my pain management doc specifically told me to FLUSH certain drugs

Because it was too dangerous to just put them (and the wrappers) in the garbage. I keep thinking of that Simpson episode with the 3 eyed fish. :scared:

[libodem]

3. We used to flush tons of junk

down the toilet at work because we had to 'waste' the narcotics that were left over, for what ever reason. After awhile we were told to stop and the pharmacy picked the stuff up to be destroyed elsewhere. I got home with a box of narcotic patches after my back surgery and turned them back in rather than throw them out or flush them. The people at the pharmacy were pretty surprised. I wonder if you could get a 'sharps' container to throw out old drug related materials? Then turn the container in to the pharmacy?

[Donnachaidh]

4. that's a thought - I'll have to ask next time

Can you imagine the pharmacies reaction if tons of people want them to get rid of old meds? :wow:

[emmadoggy]

5. Us too.

I used to work as a pharmacy tech in a small town pharmacy and we always flushed old or unused meds. Makes me feel awful now. But that's what we were told to do. Obviously, they need some sort of program in place for ALL pharmacies & hospitals to dispose of drugs properly and a public awareness campaign for people to bring unused meds to their pharmacy for disposal.

[SnowGoose]

6. My dad died a few weeks ago...

and as he was nearly 80, he did have quite a few drugs in the house.

We were told (by a couple of pharmacists) that the landfill is the best place for them. I guess landfills are hypothetically sealed by clay layers and whatnot. They said if we were concerned about someone getting into them, we should dump all the pills in big jars and put a little water in there to turn them into a big mush, then close it tightly, bag it, and put it into the dump with the rest of the (non-recyclable) trash. I guess short of a hazardous waste incinerator, that's probably the best option at present. Certainly better than putting them straight into the water via the wastewater (or septic) system.

Being outside the pharmacy world, I find myself wondering if it wouldn't be a better solution to require the manufacturers to accept returns of unused drugs (with pharmacies perhaps being the dropoff points). I'm sure the drug companies would complain about the cost, but if the medicines are just going into the environment, then that represents a subsidy all of us are paying to prevent the industry from actually dealing with all the costs of their products' creation. Then again, I don't understand the industry particularly well.

Snowgoose