The U.S. Government tightly regulates the production and dispensing of prescription medications. However, these same medications are not regulated as contaminates in municipal water supplies. Pharmaceutical contamination has been found in water across the country and around the world, from rivers and streams to water from the tap.
Contamination of water by pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical like compounds has been found to be widespread. Between 1999 and 2000 an initial survey of trace contaminates was conducted by USGS scientists. Samples were taken from 139 waterways in 30 states suspected of possible contamination. 80% of samples taken had at least one or more of the 95 contaminates being tested for in the study.(Kolpin D.E.2002)
More recently the Associated Press conducted an investigation in which it was found that federal testing revealed such trace contaminates in drinking water in 24 out of 28 cities. The A.P. estimated that 46 million Americans are affected.(Assosiated Press,2008) These numbers are quite startling but even more shocking is the magnitude of pharmaceutical contamination outside the U.S. In Patancheru, India recent testing of treated wastewater show levels that are equivalent to that of clinical doses. Patancheru also is the home to approximately 90 pharmaceutical manufacturers who are suspected of contributing to the sever problem. Drugs such as ciprofloxin where found in the water along with 20 other pharmaceutical. One of the concerns scientists have is that if the entire population of an area receives and equivalent clinic dose or more of ciprofloxin and other antibiotics everyday, bacteria in the area could become resistant to such treatment and may be able to spread unchecked. A great deal of the drugs produced in the factors in Patancheru are shipped to the U.S.(Mason, M.2009)
The source of pharmaceutical contamination is not limited to polluting drug companies or unmetabolized medications excreted in human waste. It has been demonstrated that so called concentrated animal feeding operation(CAFO) are to blame for antibiotics and hormones in wastewater too. An example given in a Frontline documentary is the industrial producers of chicken contract to farmers to raise their animals, in many cases the company owns everything; the animals, feed, shelter and , property but many companies put the responsibility of disposing the animals waste to the farmers. These companies then are free any legal responsibility to dispose of said waste properly. This type of animal waste not only contains hormones and anti biotics but when it is released into waterways the nitrogen found in this animal waste promotes the growth of certain is types of algea. In some cases this algea growth removes the oxygen from the water creating huge "dead zones"completely void of life. There is a dead zone at the mouth of the Mississippi river that is estimated to be the size of Massechucetts.(Frontline,2009) Test have also shown that pharmaceutical contamination is not limited to the U.S. and developing nations. Pharmaceuticals have been found in locations in Asia, Europe, and Australia. as well.
The effects of this class of contaminates are more visible and dramatic in the wildlife that inhabit the affected areas. It is thought that as little as 1 ng/liter of hormones or hormone like compounds is enough to illicit a physiological response in fish. In many lakes and streams around the United States fish and other aquatic life have been found with both sex organs due to exposure.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife scientists have been examining the effects of pharmaceutical contamination on fish in Lake Mead and the Colorado River. They have found that several endangered fish as well as non endangered fish have felt the effects, such contamination is being blamed for dramatic reproductive problems. In the cases of the Razorback Sucker and the Male Fathead Minnow, both endangered, have been found with damaged sperm or low sperm count. Males of other fish species have been feminized, so called feminization occurs when male fish produce yolk protein normally only produced by female fish. At this point it is appropriate to mention that along with dumping treated waste water into Lake Mead Las Vegas also draws water from the lake for municipal use as potable water. In other instances the ratio male to female fish has been found to be abnormal. in yet other instances female fish have been found with male genitalia.
And it is not just what goes down our drain many types of industrial waste has been found to disrupt the endocrine system, so called endocrine disruptor are compounds that are similar to natural hormones that humans and animals use for all types of vital physiological functions, reproduction being among these.(Arnold, Robert G.2002)
These type of chemicals can block certain receptors, rendering them useless to respond to stimulation in a normal way. Hormones are the messengers of the body and if these messengers can't function it becomes very hard for the body to function in a normal way. When an embryo is developing in the womb, for example, is the release of certain hormones at certain critical times that causes the embryo to develop in specific ways. One could imagine the havoc that these endocrine disruptor could play on an embryos development, in the case of aquatic life the eggs of fish and amphibians are developing directly in the contaminated water.
The effects are not just limited to fish. A wide variety of life have felt the effects including vultures who eat contaminated animals, toxins build to high levels and the animal dies of kidney failure, mussels and algae have felt the effects too.
In boulder Creek, Colorado 50 out of 60 white suckers caught down stream of a waste treatment plant were female while up stream the ratio was approximately 50/50.
Bull Sharks nursing in Florida's Caloosahatchee River were tested with the first 9 out of 10 sharks tested showing positive for pharmaceutical presents in blood and liver samples. According to an environmental contaminates specialist with U.S. Fish and Wildlife, results are similar almost everywhere you look.
While you can surmise the ramifications that this may have, the exact effects are largely unknown in humans or the synergistic effects of a large variety of these chemicals may have in the presents of one another. Few studies have examined this issue. One study that I found while doing my research examined the possible connection of the high rate of breast cancer in Cape Cod residents to contaminated drinking water, the study could demonstrate no such connection. While another study did get preliminary positive reactions. This study was performed by Francesco Pomati at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Pomati exposed a human kidney tissue to the same types of pharmaceuticals found in Italian water at similarly small dose. In some cases the kidney growth slowed by up to one third, showing that these drugs in tiny doses and in the presents of one another illicit a physiological response in human tissue. Another interesting finding of Pomati's work seems to indicate that some drugs have an effect at low doses that is not seen at higher doses. It is important to mention that these results are preliminary and are not necissarily representative of tissue responses in the human body.
One fact that is concerning is that some of the higher concentrations of estrogen found by the USGS survey were around 2mcg/liter, when compared to the clinic dose of estrogen for contraceptive purposes at 25-35mcg/day it becomes more clear what type of threat such contamination poses. So if a person consumes 2 liters of water a day they are getting nearly 20% of the minimum clinical dose(Arnold, Robert G.2002) This is of coarse an adult dose, it is disturbing to think of a child getting 20% of this dose.
All of the information cited above leads one to ask the obvious question; what action is being taken to ensure the safety of drinking water supplies and public health? According to the Associated Press' investigation The EPA does not require testing of potable water supplies for pharmaceutical contamination, nor have they established minimum safe levels. In this investigation 52 providers of city water where contacted, one in each state and 2 in Texas and 2 in Missouri and none test for such contaminates. When such testing is performed the result generally are not shared with the public.(Assosiated Press,2008)
One technique that has show success in removing pharmaceuticals from waste water is called reverse osmosis. This is being used in a sate of the art facility in Southern California. Although this method has been show to be affective it has many drawbacks. It is very expensive to build and operate, and for every gallon of usable water it produces 3 gallons of unusable sludge water. The additional water use The EPA has set no standard for minimum safe levels of pharmaceutical contamination in municipal water supplies: While the EPA acknowledges this problem exists it has yet to act, citing lack of conclusive evidence of effects to human health. The EPA has however started to encourage proper disposal of unused pharmaceuticals and has set up disposal sites for such leftover drugs in several states for Earth Day. The Federal Government has set some preliminary guideline for home disposal of unused pharmaceuticals. Some of these guidelines include; 1)keeping medications in the original containers for identification purposes. 2)Removing the name of the recipient of the prescription. 3)In the case of solid medication a small amount of water should be added to partially dissolve tablets, in the case of liquid medications an amount of salt or flour should be added.(these measures are to discourage use after disposal) 4)The container should then be wrapped in bubble wrap or some type of padding and placed in a secondary container to prevent the container from rupturing in a municipal landfill. The EPA has also purposed designating pharmaceuticals as universal waste. Items also included may be more damaging to the environment than the pharmaceutical contamination, according to some scientists.(Associated Press) In this special designation are batteries, lamps(light bulbs)mercury containing items and other household hazardous waste. This purposed rule would encourage the generators of such waste i.e. medical and veterinary facilities to collect unused drugs for proper disposal.
Other water treatment methods are mostly to wholly ineffective at removing such contaminates and in some cases may be doing more harm than good, that is as far as drug contamination is concerned. For example chlorination, acetaminophen in the presence of chlorine forms two know toxic chemicals. In the case of other drugs the effect of chlorine is unknown.(Associated Press)
The magnitude of this issue is incredibly daunting. However, if we use a multilateral approach to addressing this problem it can be resolved or at leased greatly diminished. If we first are cognisant of our own actions and second encourage water providers, providers of pharmaceuticals and government agencies to take a more aggressive stance toward keeping such chemicals out of the environment a great amount of this issue would be resolved. Public thought is already moving in that direction with state and local governments taking the lead and the federal government following behind. The only question that remains is one of time, will such changes take place before the damage done makes recovery impossible.
Bibliography:
Environmental Science & Technology: Kolpin, D.E., Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants in U.S. streams, 1999-2000: A national reconnaissance, v. 36, no. 6, p. 1202-1211, 2002 (see http://toxics.usgs.gov/pubs/FS-027-02/index.html).
Arnold, Robert G. "Pharmaceuticals without a Prescription." Journal of Environmental Engineering Oct. 2002: 907. Military & Government Collection. EBSCO. Web. 12 Nov. 2009.
Burkholder, JoAnn, et al. "Impacts of Waste from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations on Water Quality." Environmental Health Perspectives 115.2 (2007): 308-312. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 17 Nov. 2009.
"Poisoned Waters." Dir. Rick Young. Frontline. PBS. WGBH, Boston,
21 Apr. 2009. Television.
Margie Mason. "THE WORLD; 'Ecological sacrifice zone' in India; Water in a town with pharmaceutical plants that supply the U.S. is tainted with antibiotics and other strong drugs. " Los Angeles Times 8 Feb. 2009,Los Angeles Times, ProQuest. Web. 17 Nov. 2009.
Brody, Julia Green, et al. "Breast cancer risk and drinking water contaminated by wastewater: a case control study." Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source 5.(2006): 28. MEDLINE. EBSCO. Web. 22 Nov. 2009
Leonnig, Carol D. "Area Tap Water Has Traces of Medicines." The Washington Post. 10 Mar. 2008: B1.retrieved from the web on 11/21/2009 at www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/03/09/ST2008030901877.html
http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/pharmawater_site/
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
First Draft Research Paper
The U.S. Government tightly regulates the production and dispensing of prescription medications. However, these same medications are not regulated as contaminates in municipal water supplies. Pharmaceutical contamination has been found in water across the country and around the world, from rivers and streams to water from the tap.
Contamination of water by pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical like compounds has been found to be widespread. Between 1999 and 2000 an initial survey of trace contaminates was conducted by USGS scientists. Samples were taken from 139 waterways in 30 states suspected of possible contamination. 80% of samples taken had at least one or more of the 95 contaminates being tested for in the study.(Kolpin D.E.2002)
More recently the Associated Press conducted an investigation in which it was found that federal testing revealed such trace contaminates in drinking water in 24 out of 28 cities. The A.P. estimated that 46 million Americans are affected.(Assosiated Press,2008) These numbers are quite startling but even more shocking is the magnitude of pharmaceutical contamination outside the U.S. In Patancheru, India recent testing of treated wastewater show levels that are equivalent to that of clinical doses. Patancheru also is the home to approximately 90 pharmaceutical manufacturers who are suspected of contributing to the sever problem. Drugs such as ciprofloxin where found in the water along with 20 other pharmaceutical. One of the concerns scientists have is that if the entire population of an area receives and equivalent clinic dose or more of ciprofloxin and other antibiotics everyday, bacteria in the area could become resistant to such treatment and may be able to spread unchecked. A great deal of the drugs produced in the factors in Patancheru are shipped to the U.S.(Mason, M.2009)
The source of pharmaceutical contamination is not limited to polluting drug companies or unmetabolized medications excreted in human waste. It has been demonstrated that so called concentrated animal feeding operation(CAFO) are to blame for antibiotics and hormones in wastewater too. An example given in a Frontline documentary is the industrial producers of chicken contract to farmers to raise their animals, in many cases the company owns everything; the animals, feed, shelter and , property but many companies put the responsibility of disposing the animals waste to the farmers. These companies then are free any legal responsibility to dispose of said waste properly. This type of animal waste not only contains hormones and anti biotics but when it is released into waterways the nitrogen found in this animal waste promotes the growth of certain is types of algea. In some cases this algea growth removes the oxygen from the water creating huge "dead zones"completely void of life. There is a dead zone at the mouth of the Mississippi river that is estimated to be the size of Massechucetts.(Frontline,2009) Test have also shown that pharmaceutical contamination is not limited to the U.S. and developing nations. Pharmaceuticals have been found in locations in Asia, Europe, and Australia. as well.
The effects of this class of contaminates are more visible and dramatic in the wildlife that inhabit the affected areas. It is thought that as little as 1 ng/liter of hormones or hormone like compounds is enough to illicit a physiological response in fish. In many lakes and streams around the United States fish and other aquatic life have been found with both sex organs due to exposure. And it is not just what goes down our drain many types of industrial waste has been found to disrupt the endocrine system, so called endocrine disruptor are compounds that are similar to natural hormones that humans and animals use for all types of vital physiological functions, reproduction being among these.(Arnold, Robert G.2002)
These type of chemicals can block certain receptors, rendering them useless to respond to stimulation in a normal way. Hormones are the messengers of the body and if these messengers can't function it becomes very hard for the body to function in a normal way. When an embryo is developing in the womb, for example, is the release of certain hormones at certain critical times that causes the embryo to develop in specific ways. One could imagine the havoc that these endocrine disruptor could play on an embryos development, in the case of aquatic life the eggs of fish and amphibians are developing directly in the contaminated water.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife scientists have been examining the effects of pharmaceutical contamination on fish in Lake Mead and the Colorado River. They have found that several endangered fish as well as non endangered fish have felt the effects, such contamination is being blamed for dramatic reproductive problems. In the cases of the Razorback Sucker and the Male Fathead Minnow, both endangered, have been found with damaged sperm or low sperm count. Males of other fish species have been feminized, so called feminization occurs when male fish produce yolk protein normally only produced by female fish. At this point it is appropriate to mention that along with dumping treated waste water into Lake Mead Las Vegas also draws water from the lake for municipal use as potable water. In other instances the ratio male to female fish has been found to be abnormal. in yet other instances female fish have been found with male genitalia.
The effects are not just limited to fish. A wide variety of life have felt the effects including vultures who eat contaminated animals, toxins build to high levels and the animal dies of kidney failure, mussels and algae have felt the effects too.
In boulder Creek, Colorado 50 out of 60 white suckers caught down stream of a waste treatment plant were female while up stream the ratio was approximately 50/50.
Bull Sharks nursing in Florida's Caloosahatchee River were tested with the first 9 out of 10 sharks tested showing positive for pharmaceutical presents in blood and liver samples. According to an environmental contaminates specialist with U.S. Fish and Wildlife, results are similar almost everywhere you look.
While you can surmise the ramifications that this may have, the exact effects are largely unknown in humans or the synergistic effects of a large variety of these chemicals may have in the presents of one another. Few studies have examined this issue. One study that I found while doing my research examined the possible connection of the high rate of breast cancer in Cape Cod residents to contaminated drinking water, the study could demonstrate no such connection. While another study did get preliminary positive reactions. This study was performed by Francesco Pomati at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Pomati exposed a human kidney tissue to the same types of pharmaceuticals found in Italian water at similarly small dose. In some cases the kidney growth slowed by up to one third, showing that these drugs in tiny doses and in the presents of one another illicit a physiological response in human tissue. Another interesting finding of Pomati's work seems to indicate that some drugs have an effect at low doses that is not seen at higher doses. It is important to mention that these results are preliminary and are not necissarily representative of tissue responses in the human body.
One fact that is concerning is that some of the higher concentrations of estrogen found by the USGS survey were around 2mcg/liter, when compared to the clinic dose of estrogen for contraceptive purposes at 25-35mcg/day it becomes more clear what type of threat such contamination poses. So if a person consumes 2 liters of water a day they are getting nearly 20% of the minimum clinical dose(Arnold, Robert G.2002) This is of coarse an adult dose, it is disturbing to think of a child getting 20% of this dose.
All of the information cited above leads one to ask the obvious question; what action is being taken to ensure the safety of drinking water supplies and public health?
According to the Associated Press' investigation The EPA does not require testing of potable water supplies for pharmaceutical contamination, nor have they established minimum safe levels. In this investigation 52 providers of city water where contacted, one in each state and 2 in Texas and 2 in Missouri and none test for such contaminates. When such testing is performed the result generally are not shared with the public.(Assosiated Press,2008)
in this special designation are batteries, lamps(light bulbs)mercury containing items and other household hazardous waste. This purposed rule would encourage the generators of such waste i.e. medical and veterinary facilities to collect unused drugs for proper disposal.
One technique that has show success in removing pharmaceuticals from waste water is called reverse osmosis. This is being used in a sate of the art facility in Southern California. Although this method has been show to be affective it has many drawbacks. It is very expensive to build and operate, and for every gallon of usable water it produces 3 gallons of unusable sludge water. The additional water use The EPA has set no standard for minimum safe levels of pharmaceutical contamination in municipal water supplies: While the EPA acknowledges this problem exists it has yet to act, citing lack of conclusive evidence of effects to human health. The EPA has however started to encourage proper disposal of unused pharmaceuticals and has set up disposal sites for such leftover drugs in several states for Earth Day. The Federal Government has set some preliminary guideline for home disposal of unused pharmaceuticals. Some of these guidelines include; 1)keeping medications in the original containers for identification purposes. 2)Removing the name of the recipient of the prescription. 3)In the case of solid medication a small amount of water should be added to partially dissolve tablets, in the case of liquid medications an amount of salt or flour should be added.(these measures are to discourage use after disposal) 4)The container should then be wrapped in bubble wrap or some type of padding and placed in a secondary container to prevent the container from rupturing in a municipal landfill. The EPA has also purposed designating pharmaceuticals as universal waste. Items also included may be more damaging to the environment than the pharmaceutical contamination, according to some scientists.(Associated Press)
Other water treatment methods are mostly to wholly ineffective at removing such contaminates and in some cases may be doing more harm than good, that is as far as drug contamination is concerned. For example chlorination, acetaminophen in the presence of chlorine forms two know toxic chemicals. In the case of other drugs the effect of chlorine is unknown.(Associated Press)
The magnitude of this issue is incredibly daunting. However, if we use a multilateral approach to addressing this problem it can be resolved or at leased greatly diminished. If we first are cognisant of our own actions and second encourage water providers, providers of pharmaceuticals and government agencies to take a more aggressive stance toward keeping such chemicals out of the environment a great amount of this issue would be resolved. Public thought is already moving in that direction with state and local governments taking the lead and the federal government following behind. The only question that remains is one of time, will such changes take place before the damage done makes recovery impossible.
Bibliography:
Environmental Science & Technology: Kolpin, D.E., Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants in U.S. streams, 1999-2000: A national reconnaissance, v. 36, no. 6, p. 1202-1211, 2002 (see http://toxics.usgs.gov/pubs/FS-027-02/index.html).
Arnold, Robert G. "Pharmaceuticals without a Prescription." Journal of Environmental Engineering Oct. 2002: 907. Military & Government Collection. EBSCO. Web. 12 Nov. 2009.
Burkholder, JoAnn, et al. "Impacts of Waste from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations on Water Quality." Environmental Health Perspectives 115.2 (2007): 308-312. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 17 Nov. 2009.
"Poisoned Waters." Dir. Rick Young. Frontline. PBS. WGBH, Boston,
21 Apr. 2009. Television.
Margie Mason. "THE WORLD; 'Ecological sacrifice zone' in India; Water in a town with pharmaceutical plants that supply the U.S. is tainted with antibiotics and other strong drugs. " Los Angeles Times 8 Feb. 2009,Los Angeles Times, ProQuest. Web. 17 Nov. 2009.
Brody, Julia Green, et al. "Breast cancer risk and drinking water contaminated by wastewater: a case control study." Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source 5.(2006): 28. MEDLINE. EBSCO. Web. 22 Nov. 2009
Leonnig, Carol D. "Area Tap Water Has Traces of Medicines." The Washington Post. 10 Mar. 2008: B1.retrieved from the web on 11/21/2009 at www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/03/09/ST2008030901877.html
http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/pharmawater_site/
Contamination of water by pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical like compounds has been found to be widespread. Between 1999 and 2000 an initial survey of trace contaminates was conducted by USGS scientists. Samples were taken from 139 waterways in 30 states suspected of possible contamination. 80% of samples taken had at least one or more of the 95 contaminates being tested for in the study.(Kolpin D.E.2002)
More recently the Associated Press conducted an investigation in which it was found that federal testing revealed such trace contaminates in drinking water in 24 out of 28 cities. The A.P. estimated that 46 million Americans are affected.(Assosiated Press,2008) These numbers are quite startling but even more shocking is the magnitude of pharmaceutical contamination outside the U.S. In Patancheru, India recent testing of treated wastewater show levels that are equivalent to that of clinical doses. Patancheru also is the home to approximately 90 pharmaceutical manufacturers who are suspected of contributing to the sever problem. Drugs such as ciprofloxin where found in the water along with 20 other pharmaceutical. One of the concerns scientists have is that if the entire population of an area receives and equivalent clinic dose or more of ciprofloxin and other antibiotics everyday, bacteria in the area could become resistant to such treatment and may be able to spread unchecked. A great deal of the drugs produced in the factors in Patancheru are shipped to the U.S.(Mason, M.2009)
The source of pharmaceutical contamination is not limited to polluting drug companies or unmetabolized medications excreted in human waste. It has been demonstrated that so called concentrated animal feeding operation(CAFO) are to blame for antibiotics and hormones in wastewater too. An example given in a Frontline documentary is the industrial producers of chicken contract to farmers to raise their animals, in many cases the company owns everything; the animals, feed, shelter and , property but many companies put the responsibility of disposing the animals waste to the farmers. These companies then are free any legal responsibility to dispose of said waste properly. This type of animal waste not only contains hormones and anti biotics but when it is released into waterways the nitrogen found in this animal waste promotes the growth of certain is types of algea. In some cases this algea growth removes the oxygen from the water creating huge "dead zones"completely void of life. There is a dead zone at the mouth of the Mississippi river that is estimated to be the size of Massechucetts.(Frontline,2009) Test have also shown that pharmaceutical contamination is not limited to the U.S. and developing nations. Pharmaceuticals have been found in locations in Asia, Europe, and Australia. as well.
The effects of this class of contaminates are more visible and dramatic in the wildlife that inhabit the affected areas. It is thought that as little as 1 ng/liter of hormones or hormone like compounds is enough to illicit a physiological response in fish. In many lakes and streams around the United States fish and other aquatic life have been found with both sex organs due to exposure. And it is not just what goes down our drain many types of industrial waste has been found to disrupt the endocrine system, so called endocrine disruptor are compounds that are similar to natural hormones that humans and animals use for all types of vital physiological functions, reproduction being among these.(Arnold, Robert G.2002)
These type of chemicals can block certain receptors, rendering them useless to respond to stimulation in a normal way. Hormones are the messengers of the body and if these messengers can't function it becomes very hard for the body to function in a normal way. When an embryo is developing in the womb, for example, is the release of certain hormones at certain critical times that causes the embryo to develop in specific ways. One could imagine the havoc that these endocrine disruptor could play on an embryos development, in the case of aquatic life the eggs of fish and amphibians are developing directly in the contaminated water.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife scientists have been examining the effects of pharmaceutical contamination on fish in Lake Mead and the Colorado River. They have found that several endangered fish as well as non endangered fish have felt the effects, such contamination is being blamed for dramatic reproductive problems. In the cases of the Razorback Sucker and the Male Fathead Minnow, both endangered, have been found with damaged sperm or low sperm count. Males of other fish species have been feminized, so called feminization occurs when male fish produce yolk protein normally only produced by female fish. At this point it is appropriate to mention that along with dumping treated waste water into Lake Mead Las Vegas also draws water from the lake for municipal use as potable water. In other instances the ratio male to female fish has been found to be abnormal. in yet other instances female fish have been found with male genitalia.
The effects are not just limited to fish. A wide variety of life have felt the effects including vultures who eat contaminated animals, toxins build to high levels and the animal dies of kidney failure, mussels and algae have felt the effects too.
In boulder Creek, Colorado 50 out of 60 white suckers caught down stream of a waste treatment plant were female while up stream the ratio was approximately 50/50.
Bull Sharks nursing in Florida's Caloosahatchee River were tested with the first 9 out of 10 sharks tested showing positive for pharmaceutical presents in blood and liver samples. According to an environmental contaminates specialist with U.S. Fish and Wildlife, results are similar almost everywhere you look.
While you can surmise the ramifications that this may have, the exact effects are largely unknown in humans or the synergistic effects of a large variety of these chemicals may have in the presents of one another. Few studies have examined this issue. One study that I found while doing my research examined the possible connection of the high rate of breast cancer in Cape Cod residents to contaminated drinking water, the study could demonstrate no such connection. While another study did get preliminary positive reactions. This study was performed by Francesco Pomati at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. Pomati exposed a human kidney tissue to the same types of pharmaceuticals found in Italian water at similarly small dose. In some cases the kidney growth slowed by up to one third, showing that these drugs in tiny doses and in the presents of one another illicit a physiological response in human tissue. Another interesting finding of Pomati's work seems to indicate that some drugs have an effect at low doses that is not seen at higher doses. It is important to mention that these results are preliminary and are not necissarily representative of tissue responses in the human body.
One fact that is concerning is that some of the higher concentrations of estrogen found by the USGS survey were around 2mcg/liter, when compared to the clinic dose of estrogen for contraceptive purposes at 25-35mcg/day it becomes more clear what type of threat such contamination poses. So if a person consumes 2 liters of water a day they are getting nearly 20% of the minimum clinical dose(Arnold, Robert G.2002) This is of coarse an adult dose, it is disturbing to think of a child getting 20% of this dose.
All of the information cited above leads one to ask the obvious question; what action is being taken to ensure the safety of drinking water supplies and public health?
According to the Associated Press' investigation The EPA does not require testing of potable water supplies for pharmaceutical contamination, nor have they established minimum safe levels. In this investigation 52 providers of city water where contacted, one in each state and 2 in Texas and 2 in Missouri and none test for such contaminates. When such testing is performed the result generally are not shared with the public.(Assosiated Press,2008)
in this special designation are batteries, lamps(light bulbs)mercury containing items and other household hazardous waste. This purposed rule would encourage the generators of such waste i.e. medical and veterinary facilities to collect unused drugs for proper disposal.
One technique that has show success in removing pharmaceuticals from waste water is called reverse osmosis. This is being used in a sate of the art facility in Southern California. Although this method has been show to be affective it has many drawbacks. It is very expensive to build and operate, and for every gallon of usable water it produces 3 gallons of unusable sludge water. The additional water use The EPA has set no standard for minimum safe levels of pharmaceutical contamination in municipal water supplies: While the EPA acknowledges this problem exists it has yet to act, citing lack of conclusive evidence of effects to human health. The EPA has however started to encourage proper disposal of unused pharmaceuticals and has set up disposal sites for such leftover drugs in several states for Earth Day. The Federal Government has set some preliminary guideline for home disposal of unused pharmaceuticals. Some of these guidelines include; 1)keeping medications in the original containers for identification purposes. 2)Removing the name of the recipient of the prescription. 3)In the case of solid medication a small amount of water should be added to partially dissolve tablets, in the case of liquid medications an amount of salt or flour should be added.(these measures are to discourage use after disposal) 4)The container should then be wrapped in bubble wrap or some type of padding and placed in a secondary container to prevent the container from rupturing in a municipal landfill. The EPA has also purposed designating pharmaceuticals as universal waste. Items also included may be more damaging to the environment than the pharmaceutical contamination, according to some scientists.(Associated Press)
Other water treatment methods are mostly to wholly ineffective at removing such contaminates and in some cases may be doing more harm than good, that is as far as drug contamination is concerned. For example chlorination, acetaminophen in the presence of chlorine forms two know toxic chemicals. In the case of other drugs the effect of chlorine is unknown.(Associated Press)
The magnitude of this issue is incredibly daunting. However, if we use a multilateral approach to addressing this problem it can be resolved or at leased greatly diminished. If we first are cognisant of our own actions and second encourage water providers, providers of pharmaceuticals and government agencies to take a more aggressive stance toward keeping such chemicals out of the environment a great amount of this issue would be resolved. Public thought is already moving in that direction with state and local governments taking the lead and the federal government following behind. The only question that remains is one of time, will such changes take place before the damage done makes recovery impossible.
Bibliography:
Environmental Science & Technology: Kolpin, D.E., Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants in U.S. streams, 1999-2000: A national reconnaissance, v. 36, no. 6, p. 1202-1211, 2002 (see http://toxics.usgs.gov/pubs/FS-027-02/index.html).
Arnold, Robert G. "Pharmaceuticals without a Prescription." Journal of Environmental Engineering Oct. 2002: 907. Military & Government Collection. EBSCO. Web. 12 Nov. 2009.
Burkholder, JoAnn, et al. "Impacts of Waste from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations on Water Quality." Environmental Health Perspectives 115.2 (2007): 308-312. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 17 Nov. 2009.
"Poisoned Waters." Dir. Rick Young. Frontline. PBS. WGBH, Boston,
21 Apr. 2009. Television.
Margie Mason. "THE WORLD; 'Ecological sacrifice zone' in India; Water in a town with pharmaceutical plants that supply the U.S. is tainted with antibiotics and other strong drugs. " Los Angeles Times 8 Feb. 2009,Los Angeles Times, ProQuest. Web. 17 Nov. 2009.
Brody, Julia Green, et al. "Breast cancer risk and drinking water contaminated by wastewater: a case control study." Environmental Health: A Global Access Science Source 5.(2006): 28. MEDLINE. EBSCO. Web. 22 Nov. 2009
Leonnig, Carol D. "Area Tap Water Has Traces of Medicines." The Washington Post. 10 Mar. 2008: B1.retrieved from the web on 11/21/2009 at www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/03/09/ST2008030901877.html
http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/pharmawater_site/
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Paper Outline
The Problem of Pharmaceutical Contamination is Widespread.
- Between 1999 and 2000 A USGS survey tested 139 waterways suspected of being contaminated. Most all of the waterways tested had at least 1 of the 95 contaminates being tested for.
- In a federal study of city drinking water. 24 out of 28 municipal water supplies had these types of contaminates present.
- According to a L.A. Times article waterways around pharmaceutical manufacturers in India are so heavily contaminated that drinking water out of the river is as good as taking Cipro tablets.
The effects of pharmaceutical contamination have been found in wildlife but health risks posed to humans are yet to be determined.
-It has be determined by the USGS that fish are seriously affected by minute amounts of hormones found in rivers and streams, such as fish and amphibians found with both sex organs.
- The has been no conclusive evidence of the effects of such contaminates on human health
- A study investigated the possible connection of high rates of breast cancer on Cape Cod with contaminated water, the study concluded that no connection was observed.
The EPA has set no standards for these types of contaminates.
- According to the AP investigation there has been no min. safe level established.
- The great majority of water treatment plants do not test for pharmaceutical contaminates nor is the technology in place to remove such contaminates if they were detected.
- Between 1999 and 2000 A USGS survey tested 139 waterways suspected of being contaminated. Most all of the waterways tested had at least 1 of the 95 contaminates being tested for.
- In a federal study of city drinking water. 24 out of 28 municipal water supplies had these types of contaminates present.
- According to a L.A. Times article waterways around pharmaceutical manufacturers in India are so heavily contaminated that drinking water out of the river is as good as taking Cipro tablets.
The effects of pharmaceutical contamination have been found in wildlife but health risks posed to humans are yet to be determined.
-It has be determined by the USGS that fish are seriously affected by minute amounts of hormones found in rivers and streams, such as fish and amphibians found with both sex organs.
- The has been no conclusive evidence of the effects of such contaminates on human health
- A study investigated the possible connection of high rates of breast cancer on Cape Cod with contaminated water, the study concluded that no connection was observed.
The EPA has set no standards for these types of contaminates.
- According to the AP investigation there has been no min. safe level established.
- The great majority of water treatment plants do not test for pharmaceutical contaminates nor is the technology in place to remove such contaminates if they were detected.
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