Last week, the AP reported that a wide array of prescription drugs including antibiotics, sex hormones, and antidepressants are being found in water supplies across the United States.
Pharmaceuticals Found in US Tap Water
How did the drugs get in our water? Simple; when people take the drugs, their bodies absorb some, but not all of them. The unabsorbed amounts leave the body and are flushed down the toilet, where it joins other wastewater. Wastewater is cleansed before it's sent to reservoirs, rivers, and lakes, and the water is often reclaimed by water treatment plants and turned into drinking water. However, the treatments aren't able to completely remove the remaining drug residue.
The amounts of these drugs are extremely tiny and far below the levels of a medical dose, but researchers are concerned because they aren't fully certain what the long term effects from consistent exposure to random combinations of pharmaceuticals are.
People who use home filtration systems or drink bottled water are not protected from exposure to the prescription drugs, either. Bottled water is often from tap water, and water bottling plants don't screen their water for pharmaceuticals.
(Image from CDC)
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so how do you access/purify water so that it no longer is affected?
view lindsey kathlene's profile
It would be cool if you could choose which ones at least?
view stuzzeo's profile
This is a scare tactic. The best water is your tap water which is regulated and checked and which you can request copies of reports detailing the contaminents tested. We should feel fortunate to have some of the cleanest water in the world (as well as access to so many beneficial medications), not scared on unfounded medical contaminents. This only seeks to provide more incentive for water bottlers and less incentive to maintain, as citizens, our public water supplies.
view aleec's profile
what about all the harsh chemicals people use to clean their toilets with? Do they get broken down during the purification process, or they come back too?
view Nudik's profile
There's a lecture an upcoming public lecture at the National Academies Science in DC regarding this issue. I can't remember what day it is, but if anyone is interested let me know.
view kbittner's profile
The AP investigation took all of five months. I'll wait to panic when there is a more scientific investigation.
view alexis's profile