Drugs in the drinking water Options

[The Fanatic]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/03/10/pharm...1.ap/index.html

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

Of the 28 major metropolitan areas where tests were performed on drinking water supplies, only Albuquerque, New Mexico; Austin, Texas; and Virginia Beach, Virginia, said tests were negative. The drinking water in Dallas, Texas, has been tested, but officials are awaiting results. Arlington, Texas, acknowledged that traces of a pharmaceutical were detected in its drinking water but cited post-9/11 security concerns in refusing to identify the drug.

Perhaps it's because Americans have been taking drugs -- and flushing them unmetabolized or unused -- in growing amounts. Over the past five years, the number of U.S. drug prescriptions rose 12 percent to a record 3.7 billion, while nonprescription drug purchases held steady around 3.3 billion, according to IMS Health and The Nielsen Co.

Recent laboratory research has found that small amounts of medication have affected human embryonic kidney cells, human blood cells and human breast cancer cells. The cancer cells proliferated too quickly; the kidney cells grew too slowly; and the blood cells showed biological activity associated with inflammation.

Also, pharmaceuticals in waterways are damaging wildlife across the nation and around the globe, research shows. Notably, male fish are being feminized, creating egg yolk proteins, a process usually restricted to females. Pharmaceuticals also are affecting sentinel species at the foundation of the pyramid of life -- such as earthworms in the wild and zooplankton in the laboratory, studies show.

(Emphasis added)
When i was working out earlier, I saw this story on CNN and it surprised me in that I never thought about it but it makes sense that a lot of the drugs Americans are taking would not be totally absorbed. I think it harkens to a larger problem: the over medication of many Americans in this country. I mean yeah there are trace amounts in the water but it is still kind of unnerving. There are obviously no short term worries because we are all still alive but what are the long term effects of pharmaceutical excess in the water supply?

This post has been edited by The Fanatic: Mar 10 2008, 11:55 AM

[impala454]

All the back and forth debating coulda fooled me