August 28th, 2008

Drinking Water Contaminated with Pharmaceuticals

Posted by Jessica Jensen

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Story courtesy of the Environmental News Network

An investigation by the Associated Press (AP) has revealed that the drinking water of at least 41 million people in the United States is contaminated with pharmaceutical drugs.

It has long been known that drugs are not wholly absorbed or broken down by the human body. Significant amounts of any medication taken eventually pass out of the body, primarily through the urine.

While sewage is treated before being released back into the environment, and water from reservoirs or rivers is also treated before being funneled back into the drinking water supply, these treatments are not able to remove all traces of medications. And so far, the EPA has not regulated the presence of pharmaceuticals in drinking water, meaning that there are no laws in existence today that protect consumers from this increasingly dangerous chemical contaminant of the water supply.

Here are some of the test results obtained by the AP:
   + 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.

Read the rest of the article here.
Here is a map showing cities across the US where the drinking water tested positive for pharmaceuticals.

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