3.10.08
Pharmaceuticals found in U.S. tap water
By: Associated Press and Henry Cordes, Omaha World-Herald
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, an Associated Press investigation shows.
To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.
But the presence of so many prescription drugs — and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen — in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.
In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas.
Omaha is among many cities that have not tested for pharmaceuticals in its water. However, low-levels of such drugs have been found in the watershed from which the Metropolitan Utilities District draws its water.
But M.U.D. officials say Omaha residents can have confidence in the safety of water in the city.
While such compounds may be detected at low levels in source waters, there is no research that has demonstrated any adverse human health affects from such low levels, said M.U.D. spokeswoman Mari Matulka.
If federal regulars ever became concerned that low levels of pharmaceuticals could pose a threat to human health, the utility would begin testing for the drugs, she said.
"You can raise an issue hypothetically and that's fine and good, but it's troubling if it starts harming public confidence in our drinking water," said Tom Wurtz, M.U.D.'s top executive. "That's unfair, because our water systems are the safest in the world."
How do the drugs get into the water?
People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue.
And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife.
"We recognize it is a growing concern, and we're taking it very seriously," said Benjamin Grumbles, assistant administrator for water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Here are some of the 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.
- Anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications were detected in a portion of the treated drinking water for 18.5 million people in Southern California.• A sex hormone was detected in San Francisco's water.
- The drinking water for Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas tested positive for six pharmaceuticals.
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.
World-Herald staff writer Henry Cordes contributed to this report.