Drugs in Your Drinking Water?

Posted on July 18, 2008  | Filed Under Healthy, Safer Families and Communities, Protecting America's Waters

Newspapers, radio and TV stations and, of course, the internet quickly picked up and ran with headlines like the one above, after a March 10 Associated Press investigation found drugs in our water.
miscellaneous pills
The AP investigation discovered low levels of prescription and non-prescription drugs, detected in both municipally treated tapwater and water from where tapwater is drawn.

How are we supposed to respond to this kind of news? How are people responding?

Reactions have run the gamut from shock and alarm, to concern, to dismissive denial (”Everything’s fine… The water’s perfectly safe… If there was a serious problem, the government would be doing something about it.”).

Some of the more cynical expressed “Shocked, simply shocked” at news of yet another problem where officials responsible for environmental and public health protection failed to act.

Reporters, Members of Congress and other public officials turned to Clean Water Action for expert advice and we presented testimony before government panels.

Sadly, as all of this unfolded, the Bush Administration was pushing ahead with new budget requests proposing further cuts in already reduced funding for basic scientific testing and research on the issue.

Here’s some of what we know about this problem. First, the problem does appear to be pervasive. Most places where water is tested, drugs are detected at low levels.

But right now, safe drinking water rules require neither testing nor treatment to detect or remove pharmaceuticals from tapwater.

Drugs enter the water in at least four different ways. There can be waste from manufacturing. They may be disposed of or flushed by consumers or manufacturers. In addition, as the AP report explains, “People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through….” And modern industrialized agriculture contributes a large share, as wastes from highly-medicated poultry and livestock drain into nearby waterways or they are spread as fertilizers and sewage sludge.

Which of these is the biggest source of the problem? Again, the answer awaits more scientific research and testing. Of course, drugs in water are only one of many the consequences of current agricultural practices. Changing those practices - reversing the trend towards more and more reliance on factory farming, for example - would certainly reduce pollution and health harm.

So what health impacts might result from drugs in our water? Modern pharmaceuticals are engineered to be effective at very low doses. Drug companies must issue extensive warnings about risks of possible interactions between different medications. But those warnings couldn’t begin to address the strange stew of hormones, prescription drugs, vitamins, and over-the-counter meds now showing up in waters nationwide. The issue has barely been studied, and more scientific research is needed.

But as Clean Water Action’s Dave Pringle notes in recent testimony before the U.S. Senate (pdf), “Common sense dictates it’s not a good idea to drink somebody else’s medicine.”

The need for more scientific research on drugs in water, which Clean Water Action strongly supports, should not be used as an excuse to delay action while experts “study the problem” some more. Steps can be taken now to reduce pollution, protect water sources and improve the nation’s aging water treatment infrastructure.

A good first step? Pass the Clean Water Restoration Act which would reaffirm the nation’s commitment to fishable, swimmable, drinkable water for all Americans. This proposal won’t specifically outlaw drugs in water, but it will repair damage done in recent years to our landmark 36 year-old Clean Water Act and that’s a giant step toward building momentum for safeguarding drugs in our water.

Comments

6 Responses to “Drugs in Your Drinking Water?”

  1. Tony on July 20th, 2008 7:56 pm

    Discarding old and unwanted medicine is not as easy as “bing bang boom”. We can not throw it away in the toilet because it contaminates the water because not all of the medicine is filtered. The medicine contaminates the soil if we throw it in the compost. If the medicine is too old, it is not safe to take. There are various alternatives to safely discard the old and unwanted medicine.
    One of the alternatives to pills is drinking the Chinese herbal tea. It is available at any Chinese herbal medicine stores in different Chinatowns. It will be awkward if you do not speak Chinese, so you can go with a friend or family who does. The doctor takes your pulse, asks questions, and takes notes. The assistants get all of the herbs, measures how much to put in one pile, and puts them in bags. The herbs cost at least $40 for 2 or 3 days worth of medicine.
    Before you sleep, boil a few cups of water for a few hours with the herbs. Let the water boil, even though it is at a hard boil. After a few hours, when some of the liquid evaporates, pour the medicine in a bowl or a large glass. Sip immediately and slowly. Do not let it cool off too long. The medicine is meant to taste bitter, but the bitterness does not matter if you feel ill. After finishing the medicine, wash up, go to bed, and “sweat” it off during the night. The Chinese herbal tea is helpful because
    a) you feel better quicker than the pills.
    b) there are less side affects than the pills.
    c) the herbs can be thrown in the compost. It is good for the soil since they are grown from there.
    If you can not find any Chinese herbal tea, you can still take the pills, but finish all of it. You might think that you feel better, but you might not be 100% well. If you stop taking the pills too early, you might risk getting sick again. It is a safe idea to take all of the prescribed medicine.
    Some pharmacies started taking back old unwanted pills. Ask your local pharmacy if they do that. You can also go online and perhaps type “medicine take backs” and you might find some useful information.
    When we throw away the medicine, please do not flush them in the toilet or throw them in the compost. Please discard them safely and properly.

  2. Shauna Irvin on July 25th, 2008 8:23 am

    There are more than just drugs in our drinking water. I have a very dear friend of mine who may not make it in life due to leukemia. The doctors say her type of leukemia is enviromental, in other words, she contracted it through her work or her home. The property she lived on has a well for drinking water not plugged into the city water system. The wster was tested after she became ill, it was tainted with petroleum and fecal matter. This was well water! The place where she worked, there again had there own water system and not from the city system, again tainted with petroleum and decaying garbage matter.

    When are we going to stop the insanity? We have got to do something and make our government do something as well to end it all and soon. I am afraid we are all going to kill ourselves through our government. Why?….because of the all mighty dollar!

  3. annie on July 25th, 2008 7:31 pm

    so, what is the word on the best proper way to dispose of drugs?

  4. Tony on July 26th, 2008 2:54 pm

    Annie,
    You can either do one of the following suggestions:
    1)If you have a prescription medicine, finish ALL of the medicine.
    2) Ask your local pharmacy if they take back any old and unwanted medicine. Some of them do that.

    Hope that helps.

  5. Jen on July 28th, 2008 1:47 am

    I’ve asked at my pharmacy, (Walgreen’s) and the guy looked at me like I was crazy. I don’t think most of them take back the unused pills.

    Lots of areas are encouraging pilot programs to collect medicines - I would encourage you to search online. Here is a blog I saw that discussed this dilemma as well:

    http://blog.usa.gov/roller/govgab/entry/proper_prescription_drug_disposal

  6. Romy on August 4th, 2008 10:18 pm

    When my mother died, the hospice nurse poured the morphine and pills down the drain in New York State. She said it was the law in Erie County and that she was not allowed to carry opened morphine or pills with her or take them back.

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