Doctors do it, pharmacists do it, and even the bottles that the medication comes in do it. They all ask what other medications we are taking before they add a new one to our bodies. We all know that certain mixtures of drugs can cause uncomfortable or even deadly consequences. But when we drink water no one is around to ask us and why should they. The tap water we drink is supposed to be clean and pure, right? Every time we take a swig of water, we gulp down a low dose cocktail of pharmaceuticals. Drugs that are in random concentrations and that are not suppose to mix. Where do they come from? How do they affect us? What can we do about it?
Where do the drugs come from? There are many sources but the primary ones are from households and farms. The pharmaceutical companies and stores are pretty tightly regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA. However when the drugs leave the register, there is very little that keeps them away from Mother Nature. Most pharmaceuticals find their way into the environment through the excretion of the user (Human or Animal) or after being thrown out once they are no longer needed. The drugs that we take are never completely absorbed by our bodies and when we go to the bathroom, those extra chemicals leave our bodies and go down the commode. This then either goes to a water treatment plant or a septic tank where it then enters the environment. On farms the drugs in the animal excrement is simply washed away by rain water and soaks into the ground water. Drugs that are dumped down the drain or thrown away are even more concentrated when they enter the environment. This drug laced water is then sucked in to our water supply goes through filtration and into our glass. But wait don’t we have filtration plants and water treatment plants to make sure that chemicals and organisms don’t leave us or enter into our water? Most of our water treatment and filtration methods date back date back 40 to 50 years and were never intended to face this problem. Most of these molecules just flow past the filters and other chemicals with the water. However even with all this the concentrations being found are still small.
If the levels in the water are low, is it harmful? In short we don’t know. The chemicals pharmaceuticals make are designed to work in low concentrations However in order for the right amount to be absorbed by the body the dosage administered has to be several times higher. The dosage of these chemicals has been linked to several issues in fish communities. Several studies show how estrogen from birth control is causing a feminization of many fish species. This is where the estrogen in the water causes male fish to have hormonal imbalances and sometimes they produce eggs. Studies have also shown problems in frogs and mussels. The other problem that is occurring is when antibiotics enter the environment and because they are in low dosages, super germs are created. The EPA states that to date, no evidence has been found of human health effects from these chemicals in the environment. But if these chemicals are affecting other organisms and we are constantly being exposed to them, are we not also at risk?
So what can we do about it? In terms of disposal of unused medication, many communities and pharmaceuticals have buy back or drop off policies that take these chemicals to places that can safely dispose of them. We should encourage the EPA and state officials to educate people and regulate house hold pharmaceuticals. For the ones we take, for right now not much. Except for cutting back on how much we use, we have no systems that will remove these chemicals from our sewage or drinking water. Without extensive studies, we don’t know which chemicals we need to worry about and which ones we don’t. This does not mean we give up and forget what’s happening; we should push for updated water treatment facilities that can handle the worst of these chemicals. We should keep an eye out for the new drugs. By keeping up with the research and the treatment of these chemicals we can avoid the mess that we are in now.
Where do the drugs come from? There are many sources but the primary ones are from households and farms. The pharmaceutical companies and stores are pretty tightly regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA. However when the drugs leave the register, there is very little that keeps them away from Mother Nature. Most pharmaceuticals find their way into the environment through the excretion of the user (Human or Animal) or after being thrown out once they are no longer needed. The drugs that we take are never completely absorbed by our bodies and when we go to the bathroom, those extra chemicals leave our bodies and go down the commode. This then either goes to a water treatment plant or a septic tank where it then enters the environment. On farms the drugs in the animal excrement is simply washed away by rain water and soaks into the ground water. Drugs that are dumped down the drain or thrown away are even more concentrated when they enter the environment. This drug laced water is then sucked in to our water supply goes through filtration and into our glass. But wait don’t we have filtration plants and water treatment plants to make sure that chemicals and organisms don’t leave us or enter into our water? Most of our water treatment and filtration methods date back date back 40 to 50 years and were never intended to face this problem. Most of these molecules just flow past the filters and other chemicals with the water. However even with all this the concentrations being found are still small.
If the levels in the water are low, is it harmful? In short we don’t know. The chemicals pharmaceuticals make are designed to work in low concentrations However in order for the right amount to be absorbed by the body the dosage administered has to be several times higher. The dosage of these chemicals has been linked to several issues in fish communities. Several studies show how estrogen from birth control is causing a feminization of many fish species. This is where the estrogen in the water causes male fish to have hormonal imbalances and sometimes they produce eggs. Studies have also shown problems in frogs and mussels. The other problem that is occurring is when antibiotics enter the environment and because they are in low dosages, super germs are created. The EPA states that to date, no evidence has been found of human health effects from these chemicals in the environment. But if these chemicals are affecting other organisms and we are constantly being exposed to them, are we not also at risk?
So what can we do about it? In terms of disposal of unused medication, many communities and pharmaceuticals have buy back or drop off policies that take these chemicals to places that can safely dispose of them. We should encourage the EPA and state officials to educate people and regulate house hold pharmaceuticals. For the ones we take, for right now not much. Except for cutting back on how much we use, we have no systems that will remove these chemicals from our sewage or drinking water. Without extensive studies, we don’t know which chemicals we need to worry about and which ones we don’t. This does not mean we give up and forget what’s happening; we should push for updated water treatment facilities that can handle the worst of these chemicals. We should keep an eye out for the new drugs. By keeping up with the research and the treatment of these chemicals we can avoid the mess that we are in now.
I really enjoyed your post. This issue always tends to fall under the radar, but it is completely true. If you drink tap water, you are getting a small dose of estrogen, from all the birth control American females consume. Don't worry though, as Jared said, these doses are so low, the effects won't physically affect you. I don't know too much about this issue, but I definitely believe that if fish and other organisms are affected by this, then some form of human harm must occur eventually. I feel as if the fish and other sea-life creatures have been reported to be affected first due to the constant submergence in the contaminated water. Some type of research or regulations needs to happen before a keystone species is evolved, eventually throwing off the balance of an entire ecosystem. Unfortunately, the way our system works is research then regulations. This can be seen as an opportunity for more jobs in the research field, especially for students.
ReplyDeleteWe are certainly right in describing America as a melting pot. We are a drug-fascinated people and I often worry about the long term implications of this hobby. There is a staggering amount of biochemistry that we DON'T know and pumping our bodies full of chemicals we only barely understand in a vacuum is, I believe, asking for trouble. There have been attempts, but never holistic, to map the interactions of all our drugs. But the hard truth is simple: we really don't know anything right now about what we have in our bodies or what it does. Does taking Advil with birth control change any of their side effects? How does alcohols presence in the body several days after drinking influence the vaccine you might get a few days from now? If anyone were ever worried about the health implications of GMOs, we should be petrified of the drug industry.
ReplyDeleteI also found this article very interesting and thought it brought up many good concerns. I've actually gone on a tour of the water treatment facility between here and Radford and never though about the possibilities of pharmaceuticals passing through the treatments unscathed. Older treatment centers like that one are concerned with primary and secondary treatment of waste water. Some centers also have tertiary treatment which might get ride of other bacteria and chemicals not destroyed by secondary treatment but I'm not sure. One question I had while reading this article was would using a filter, such as a Brita filter, remove the low dose of drugs that make it through our tap water? It seems that for a country that relies on pharmaceuticals, filtration systems should be used in every household now.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the problem is not necessarily how small the concentration of drugs is in our water, but the potential they may have to interact with other chemicals. For example, it has been shown that chlorine commonly used to treat drinking water may make pharmaceutical chemicals more toxic. This is just one example of a possibly harmful interaction, and there could be more. The real risk to humans is unknown at this point, but the fact that other organisms are being affected gives at least some indication of possible harm.
ReplyDelete