Hey, don’t flush those pills, man!

by Anne Law, March 12th, 2008, 5:03 am

The Associated Press has released findings of a five-month investigation into water supplies and has found — surprise! — that small concentrations of a wide array of pharmaceuticals are showing up in the tap water that many of us drink.

The AP went to numerous water authorities and collected data from water studies that are normally not released to consumers with the justification that the information will cause panic. Rightly so, as I believe that the smattering of articles now circulating in local newspapers will spark some overreactions.

That’s not to say, however, that the information should not be released to the public, or that there may not be just cause for a strong consumer reaction. The breaking story here is not that the drugs are showing up in our water — we’ve known that for some time — but that they are ever present across the country. Similar contamination has been found around the globe as well.

While many dismiss their presence as insignificant, the AP report brings up recent studies showing that trace pharmaceuticals can have adverse effects on human cells, as well as on wildlife. Research is limited, however, and the lasting influence of minimal exposure to a wide variety of drugs is unknown.

The big question is, what can be done to remedy the situation? Is this a case similar to mercury-tainted seafood that we just have to cope with and hope the government fixes eventually? The EPA says it is monitoring the situation, but most federal and state water quality regulations don’t require testing for pharmaceuticals, and a wastewater treatment process specifically engineered to remove pharmaceuticals does not exist. (Bottled and filtered water may be safer to drink, but it is not necessarily tested or treated for drug residue either.) I predict that money won’t be spent in this area unless additional studies are conducted and the general public exerts pressure on the government to do so.

Eliminating the source is also difficult — prescription and over-the-counter drugs are not completely absorbed through human consumption, and pets and livestock also excrete drug waste. Another factor is health care facilities and pharmaceutical manufacturers that are supposed to recycle or destroy unused drugs in a safe manner — but how closely are we monitoring this?

Individually, while you can’t eliminate the human waste factor, you can avoid flushing those leftover or expired prescriptions. Take them to a pharmaceutical collection center — yes, they exist, but they need to be better publicized — or follow government disposal guidelines. While drinking water contaminated by pharmaceuticals isn’t likely to send you to the ER anytime soon, the problem is a global one that should not be taken lightly.