"We know we are being exposed to other people's drugs through our drinking water, and that can't be good," says Dr. David Carpenter, who directs the Institute for Health and the Environment of the State University of New York at Albany.
Why are there drugs in our water? 
Prescription drug use is on the rise!!
Seems like everyone is "on" something these days. From your typical ADHD child to the all to common "depressed" adult. There is a name for every lil' symptom we have and certainly the "perfect pill" to treat us. Between 2000 through 2004, the number of pharmaceutical prescriptions increased 109% (source). On average, each American was given 10.9 prescriptions per year. This increasing reliance on pharmaceuticals suggests a growing number of unused drugs in households across the U.S. This inevitably leads to traces of drugs in our water and in our food.
Drugs most commonly enter the environment in two ways:
- Humans pass medicines and supplements through their system.
- Unwanted drugs are improperly disposed of in the toilet or trash.
What do you do with your old medicines? Roughly 54% of consumers dispose of their unused pharmaceuticals in the trash, and 35% flush them down the toilet (source). "Even users of bottled water and home filtration systems don't necessarily avoid exposure. Bottlers, some of which simply repackage tap water, do not typically treat or test for pharmaceuticals, according to the industry's main trade group. The same goes for the makers of home filtration systems".*
In the U.S. there is a lack of safe drug disposal programs, therefore most residents throw their unwanted medicines in the toilet or trash where they contaminate our waterways. Did you know 40% of medicines prescribed and purchased in the U.S. have never been used! In 2007, the elderly population alone wasted over $1 billion on unused drugs (source).
Why do drugs go unused?
- Drugs expire or are outdated
- Doctor discontinues drug
- Doctor orders new drug
- Patients feel better
- Adverse or allergic reaction
- Patient dies or moves away
- Patients stop taking it
- Doctors prescribe too many pills
How does this affect human health?
The evidence for the direct consequences of PPCPs on humans is only beginning to be investigated. (But it can't be good, can it?) A landmark study in 2006 found that a mix of 13 common medications common to drinking water inhibits cell growth in human embryonic cells. This is one of the few studies that looks looks at how mixtures of prevalent medications can affect biological activity even at low concentrations. The affects on aquatic life suggest we take precaution and prevent pharmaceutical pollution from further damaging our environment.
What Consumers Can Do Now
(Because the government is known to act and implement policy far too slow and way too late)
- Dispose of unused or unwanted medications at take-back sites or events.
- Contact your pharmacist for drug recycling programs
- Contact hazardous wast facility to see its recommendations
- Do NOT dispose of any medication down the toilet or in the trash
- Purchase drugs in small amounts, limiting expired medications
- Ask for medications with low environmental impact
- Encourage your provider to take-back unwanted drugs
- Share the message of safe disposal with family and friends
- Commit to wellness strategies to reduce your reliance on medications
- Practice healthy product stewardship
What Pharmacists and Health Providers Can Do
- Do not prescribe more medications than can be used
- Prescribe starter packs and refill packs
- Review and regularly reassess the patient's total consumption of medication
- Consider environmental impact when prescribing medications
- Learn more about which drugs have large environmental impacts
- Educate consumers about the importance of proper disposal of pharmaceutical waste
- Host a take-back site.
How do drugs affect our environment?
If the picture of the angry lil' tree doesn't answer that question, try taking a deep breath. Ten times. Can you? How does it feel? Is it easy for you? Well, it's not for me. We have all been chemically altered against our wills in one way or another. It's in our psychology and written all over our skin. What should we do? At least...talk about it:
Varying concentrations of drugs have been found in nearly every water source in the U.S. and Canada. The EPA has compiled a growing body of evidence demonstrating how Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) affect aquatic life.
Here are some key test results obtained by the AP:
_Officials in Philadelphia said testing there discovered 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts in
treated drinking water, including medicines for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems. Sixty-three pharmaceuticals or byproducts were found in the city's watersheds.
_Anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications were detected in a portion of the treated drinking water for 18.5 million people in Southern California.
_Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey analyzed a Passaic Valley Water Commission drinking water treatment plant, which serves 850,000 people in Northern New Jersey, and found a metabolized angina medicine and the mood-stabilizing carbamazepine in drinking water.
_A sex hormone was detected in San Francisco's drinking water.
_The drinking water for Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas tested positive for six pharmaceuticals.
_Three medications, including an antibiotic, were found in drinking water supplied to Tucson, Ariz.
The situation is undoubtedly worse than suggested by the positive test results in the major population centers documented by the AP. The federal government doesn't require any testing and hasn't set safety limits for drugs in water. Of the 62 major water providers contacted, the drinking water for only 28 was tested. Among the 34 that haven't: Houston, Chicago, Miami, Baltimore, Phoenix, Boston and New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, which delivers water to 9 million people.
For more information:
AP probe finds drugs in drinking water
Symbiosis, The Journal of Ecologically Sustianable Medicine
One Earth: Drugs in our Drinking Water
The Teleosis Institute's Green Pharmacy Program
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