I'll Have a Hormone Cocktail, Please ...

An Associated Press investigative team has put together an impressive report on drugs in our drinking water.

"A vast array of pharmaceuticals - including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones - have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans..."

This was news to me. But it is not new news. It was noticed in Europe in the early 1990s when scientists found clofibric acid, a cholesterol-reducing drug in groundwater. There have been a number of other studies dealing with the problem over the years, specifically in 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005, to name a few.

The AP study is comprehensive and includes the latest data in its conclusions. It is a growing problem as the world population expands and the use of drugs increases. People take drugs and these drugs are exegeted down the toilet. While the wastewater is treated, the treatments do not remove all traces of the drugs.

A few fearful observations:

* The U.S. government has no standards re: drugs in water and does not require testing of water for drugs.

* Some cities and communities do test for drugs, but these are often for only one or two specific pharmaceuticals, or they fail to check for drug residue.

* Bottled water and water filtration are not necessarily free from pharmaceuticals.

* According to the EPA, "there are no sewage treatment systems specifically engineered to remove pharmaceuticals."

* Evidence suggests that chlorine, often added to purify water, makes drugs more toxic.


Now what does the drug industry say about all of this? You can guess, I'm sure.

No problem! There's little or no risk to humans.


Wrong! Research indicates that small amounts of drugs affect human embryonic cells, human blood cells, human breast cancer cells - the latter growing more quickly.

There's further evidence that drugs in the water supply negatively impact wildlife.

" ... some experts say that medications may pose a unique danger because, unlike most pollutants, they were crafted to act on the human body."

We don't know enough yet. The time-line is too short. " ... while drugs are tested to be safe for humans, the timeframe is usually over a matter of months, not a lifetime."


Where's the Environmental Protection Agency when we need it? Oh, that's right; under the Bush administration they have more important things to do than protect the environment!