Medications keep giving and giving…

The Associated Press launched a five-month investigation of drinking water in cities across the US. Their researchers found an alarming number of prescription drugs ranging from antibiotics to sex hormones in drinking water supplied to at least 41 million Americans.

The quantities were very small, probably too small to affect the body, but so widespread that concerns are growing about the need for testing the presence of prescription drugs in our drinking water.

Back in 2002 scientists met in the US to discuss the pollution of water by drugs as “a newly emerging issue.” Not really new. Sludge examined twenty years before the meeting found that incoming sewage used in recycling water systems was laced with aspirin, caffeine, and nicotine, according to symposium director Christian G. Daughton.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing better ways of disposing of unused drugs. Instead of flushing them down the toilet, they should be mixed with “undesirable” waste in the trash and disposed of that way, according to comments by the EPA.

It is hard to sort through the emotion-heavy reports and appeals on the Web about the “crisis” in our water supply. One “reliable” source turns out to be funded by a second “reliable” source that turns out to be owned by a third “reliable” source, each quoting the other as “reliable” but with no other credentials.

The EPA does come through with guidelines and suggestions for finding out if your tap water is safe to drink and what to do about it if you have questions.

(Presented by HealthWorks, a publication for health and safety in the workplace by Griffith Publishing)