Your Guide To Green

Recently, the Associated Press (AP) released a report detailing its findings of an investigation into pharmaceuticals and contaminants detected in our drinking water supply. The report states that 41 million Americans are exposed to contaminated drinking water supplies.

Scientists share serious concerns about the long-term consequences to human health caused by drinking water supplies contaminated with so many prescription drugs (pain killers, hormones, anti-depressives, heart medications, antibiotics) and over-the-counter medicines (acetaminophen and ibuprofen).

The report notes that the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. And while utility companies continue to insist that their water is safe, the exact health risk of chronic, low-level exposure remains unknown . Ph armaceuticals have been present in our water for a very long time, but until recently it has been a struggle to detect them because they are in such small levels and were difficult to measure. In addition it has proven difficult to remove traces of pharmaceuticals on a commercial scale.

Currently, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has no regulations in place to measure pharmaceutical concentration in drinking water.

In the course of its five-month inquiry, the Associated Press 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. The AP also contacted 52 small water providers, one in each state, and two each in Missouri and Texas, that serve communities with populations around 25,000. All but one said their drinking water had not been screened for pharmaceuticals.

Humans are not the only culprits when it comes to releasing pharmaceuticals into water supply. Livestock are fed 40% of the annual production of antibiotics. In much the same way that drugs pass through a human body, a large portion of the drugs fed to animals is excreted. This same manure is then spread on fields where it runs off into local water supplies after heavy rains or winds.

According to an article published in a 2002 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives , the amount of pharmaceuticals released into our environment is equal to the amount of pesticides used annually. All of this exposure doesn't always produce obvious effects but scientists have linked it to behavioral or reproductive effects that often go unnoticed for long periods of time.

While drugs are tested to be safe for humans, the timeframe is usually over a matter of months, not a lifetime. Pharmaceuticals also can produce side effects and interact with other drugs at normal medical doses. That's why, aside from therapeutic doses of fluoride injected into potable water supplies, pharmaceuticals are prescribed to people who need them, not delivered to everyone in their drinking water.

"We know we are being exposed to other people's drugs through our drinking water, and that can't be good," says Dr. David Carpenter, who directs the Institute for Health and the Environment of the State University of New York at Albany.

W hile this is nothing new, the investigation has heightened people's awareness and concerns for their health. The United States Geological Survey conducted a nationwide survey on 139 streams from 30 states and examined the presence of pharmaceuticals, hormones and other organic contaminants. Notably 82 of 95 contaminants studied were found in a single sample. Caffeine was found to be the highest-volume pollutant. In addition to the hazards posed to humans, aquatic ecosystems are endangered. Antibiotics and estrogen are the main aquatic criminals. Fish are spawning prematurely and experts are seeing an increase in pathogens that are resistant to antibiotic treatment due to continued, low-level exposure that builds up an immunity.

So, now we are aware of the problem, what is the solution?

For most people, the answer is to start drinking bottled water. While this seems like a good idea, it is NOT. Drinking from plastic water bottles can actually increase the amount of contaminants you are drinking. Not only are you ingesting chemicals leached from the plastic bottle (see our article Plastic Primer Part 1 ) but most bottled water is conventional tap water that does not undergo extra filtration for pharmaceuticals. Forty percent (40%) of bottled water in America is tap water, according to No Impact Man.

Home point-of-use filtration systems are the best solution for purifying drinking water and protecting you and your family from contaminants. Ozonation and carbon filtration are two methods that have been effective in removing pharmaceuticals. New Wave Enviro's 10 Stage product safely removes pharmaceuticals from your drinking water by using the carbon membrane to filter out pharmaceutical impurities . Another, significantly more expensive technology, reverse osmosis, is another viable solution for households.

Because reverse osmosis is expensive for large-scale applications, water facilities choose to decontaminate the water by flushing it with chlorine and that just adds to the present toxins. For households and smaller commercial applications, reverse-osmosis systems employ a dual approach: first it filters out heavy particulate matter; and second the water goes through a carbon membrane filtration system that removes smaller pharmaceutical impurities. In addition this systems removes lead, arsenic and other contaminants.

We can all help be part of the solution by properly disposing of leftover drugs -- return them to your local pharmacy or point of purchase instead of flushing them down your toilet or throwing them in your trash. Also, urge your local water supply company to retrofit their treatment facilities to eliminate the presence of harmful contaminants.

Sources:

The University of Arizona's Water Resource Center:

http://ag.arizona.edu/AZWATER/404.html

Environmental Science and Technology Journal

Sept 2005 Article: http://pubs.acs.org

Utah State University

Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water

http://extension.usu.edu

Treehugger

http://www.treehugger.com