Current Events

• Pharmaceuticals have been recently detected in our drinking water supply according to an AP investigation.

• These pharmaceuticals have affected at least 41 million Americans and include antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones

• Very Small concentration have been found, and utilities are insisting that their water is safe

• But the presence of all these drugs including acetaminophen and ibuprofen worry scientists about our long term health

• Over a 5 month test the AP found out that 24 major cities waters were contaminated with these drugs

• The way they reach the reservoirs through human waste that don’t get fully treated for all drug residue

• “Some drugs, including widely used cholesterol fighters, tranquilizers and anti-epileptic medications, resist modern drinking water and wastewater treatment processes. Plus, the EPA says there are no sewage treatment systems specifically engineered to remove pharmaceuticals.”

• Another Problem is that Federal govt doesn’t require testing for drugs in water

• In several cases, officials at municipal or regional water providers told the AP that pharmaceuticals had not been detected, but the AP got the results of tests conducted by independent researchers that showed the opposite.

• The AP also contacted 52 small water providers вЂ" one in each state, and two each in Missouri and Texas вЂ" that serve communities with populations about 25,000. All but one said their drinking water had not been screened for pharmaceuticals. (This shows the potential for a much bigger problem)

• “People say that there is little or no harm from these drugs but at a conference last summer, Mary Buzby вЂ" director of environmental technology for drug maker Merck & Co. Inc. вЂ" said”: "There's no doubt about it, pharmaceuticals