Drugs In My Water?
When I started looking into what's in my water, I was horrified. Do you know what's in your water?
The drinking water of at least 51 million Americans contains small traces of a wide variety of prescription and over the counter (often formerly prescription) drugs. Water utility companies acknowledge the presence of antibiotics, sedatives, sex hormones and dozens of other drugs in their supplies.The EPA’s new study will evaluate the levels of 200 chemical and microbial contaminants at 50 plants that treat drinking water, among them 125 pharmaceuticals and related chemicals. This is intended to help establish if regulations are needed. The EPA has already put 13 pharmaceuticals on what it calls the Contaminant Candidate List: sex hormones, the antibiotic erythromycin, and three chemicals used as drugs but which are better known for other uses.
Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products were first called "PPCPs" only a few years ago, but these bioactive chemicals
(substances that have an effect on living tissue) have been around for decades. Their effect on the environment is now
recognized as an important area of research.
PPCPs include:
Prescription and over-the counter therapeutic drugs
Veterinary drugs
Fragrances
Cosmetics
Sun-screen products
Diagnostic agents
Nutraceuticals (e.g., vitamins)
Sources of PPCPs:
Human activity
Residues from pharmaceutical manufacturing (well defined and controlled)
Residues from hospitals
Illicit drugs
Veterinary drug use, especially antibiotics and steroids
Agribusiness
Consumer Contaminates
Oils, grease, fats
Food preservatives
Food Coloring
Other ingredients
Monosodium Glutamate
Caffeine
Associated Press reported that over 41 million people are exposed to pharmaceutical drugs in treated drinking water; even your baby's formula is being contaminated with drugs. The following is a list of some of the pharmaceuticals they found in treated drinking water:
ANTIBIOTICS IN DRINKING WATER: Amoxicillin — for pneumonia, stomach ulcers; Azithromycin — for pneumonia, sexually transmitted diseases; Bacitracin — prevents infection in cuts and burns; Chloramphenicol — for serious infections when other antibiotics can't be used; Ciprofloxacin — for anthrax, other infections; Doxycycline — for pneumonia, Lyme disease, acne; Erythromycin — for pneumonia, whooping cough, Legionnaires' disease; Lincomycin — for strep, staph, other serious infections; Oxytetracycline — for respiratory, urinary infections; Penicillin G — for anthrax, other infections; Penicillin V — for pneumonia, scarlet fever, infections of ear, skin, throat; Roxithromycin — for respiratory, skin infections; Sulfadiazine — for urinary infections, burns; Sulfamethizole — for urinary infections; Sulfamethoxazole — for traveler's diarrhea, pneumonia, urinary and ear infections; Tetracycline — for pneumonia, acne, stomach ulcers, Lyme disease; Trimethoprim — for urinary and ear infections, traveler's diarrhea, pneumonia.
PAIN RELIEVERS IN DRINKING WATER: Acetaminophen — soothes arthritis, aches, colds; reduces fever;Antipyrine — for ear infections; Aspirin — for minor aches, pain; lowers risk of heart attack and stroke; Diclofenac — for arthritis, menstrual cramps, other pain; Ibuprofen — for arthritis, aches, menstrual cramps; reduces fever; Naproxen — for arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis, aches; reduces fever; Prednisone — for arthritis, allergic reactions, multiple sclerosis, some cancers.
HEART DRUGS IN DRINKING WATER: Atenolol — for high blood pressure; Bezafibrate — for cholesterol problems; Clofibric acid — byproduct of various cholesterol medications; Diltiazem — for high blood pressure, chest pain; Gemfibrozil — regulates cholesterol ;Simvastatin — slows production of cholesterol .
MIND DRUGS IN DRINKING WATER:Carbamazepine — for seizures, mood regulating; Diazepam — for anxiety, seizures; eases alcohol withdrawal; Fluoxetine — for depression; relieves premenstrual mood swings; Meprobamate — for anxiety; Phenytoin — controls epileptic seizures; Risperidone — for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe behavior problems.
OTHER HUMAN DRUGS IN DRINKING WATER: Caffeine — found in coffee; also used in pain relievers; Cotinine — byproduct of nicotine; drug in tobacco, also used in products to help smokers quit; Iopromide — given as contrast agent for medical imaging; Nicotine — found in tobacco, also in medicinal products to help smokers quit; Paraxanthine — a byproduct of caffeine; Theophylline — for asthma, bronchitis and emphysema
VETERINARY DRUGS IN DRINKING WATER: Carbadox — for control of dysentery, bacterial enteritis in pigs; promotes growth; Chlortetracycline — for eye, joint, other animal ailments; Enrofloxacin — for infections in farm animals and pets; treats wounds; Monensin — for weight gain, prevention of severe diarrhea in farm animals; Narasin — for severe diarrhea in farm animals; Oleandomycin — for respiratory disease; promotes growth in farm animals; Salinomycin — promotes growth in livestock; Sulfachloropyridazine — for enteritis in farm animals; Sulfadimethoxine — for severe diarrhea, fowl cholera, other conditions in farm animals; Sulfamerazine — for a range of infections in cats, fowl; Sulfamethazine — for bacterial diseases in farm animals; promotes growth; Sulfathiazole — for diseases in aquarium fish ;Tylosin — promotes growth, treats infections in farm animals, including bees; Virginiamycin M1 — prevents infection, promotes growth in farm animals.
All of these pharmaceutical drugs and more were found in treated water supply.
Be a water hero!
Each year by July 1 you should receive in the mail a short report (consumer confidence report, or drinking water quality report) from your water supplier that tells where your water comes from and what's in it. If you have not been receiving this, check with your provider, or check on line with the EPA.
In addition, the Environmental Working Group published an analysis of 20 million tap water quality tests performed between 2004 and 2009. The database of the results is available at http://www.ewg.org. You enter your zip code to find your water source. You get a summary about how a particular water supplier compares to the rest of the country, information on what contaminants in the water are over the legal/health limit (if any) and what contaminants are actually found in the water, and a pollution summary with an overview of what kinds of pollutants are found, along with a summary of the EPA violations that water provider has had. You can click and search individual contaminants for more data.
Become educated in what you can do to protect your family, your community, and the safety of our water systems!
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