Tons of released drugs taint US water

[villager]

Source: AP

Tons of released drugs taint US water


By JEFF DONN, MARTHA MENDOZA and JUSTIN PRITCHARD, Associated Press Writers J

U.S. manufacturers, including major drugmakers, have legally released at least 271 million pounds of pharmaceuticals into waterways that often provide drinking water — contamination the federal government has consistently overlooked, according to an Associated Press investigation.

Hundreds of active pharmaceutical ingredients are used in a variety of manufacturing, including drugmaking: For example, lithium is used to make ceramics and treat bipolar disorder; nitroglycerin is a heart drug and also used in explosives; copper shows up in everything from pipes to contraceptives.

Federal and industry officials say they don't know the extent to which pharmaceuticals are released by U.S. manufacturers because no one tracks them — as drugs. But a close analysis of 20 years of federal records found that, in fact, the government unintentionally keeps data on a few, allowing a glimpse of the pharmaceuticals coming from factories.

As part of its ongoing PharmaWater investigation about trace concentrations of pharmaceuticals in drinking water, AP identified 22 compounds that show up on two lists: the EPA monitors them as industrial chemicals that are released into rivers, lakes and other bodies of water under federal pollution laws, while the Food and Drug Administration classifies them as active pharmaceutical ingredients.

The data don't show precisely how much of the 271 million pounds comes from drugmakers versus other manufacturers; also, the figure is a massive undercount because of the limited federal government tracking.

<snip>


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090419/ap_on_re_us/pharmawater_factories

[jody]

1. I often think we humans are the sole disease that will destroy all that is good among the bounty

that nature has provided for our enjoyment.

Excellent post. :hi:

[villager]

7. You see, Jody? We both get out of the gungeon...

... and we're practically buying each other rounds!

(Uh -- I mean the drinking kind, not the ammo kind!) :D

[jody]

10. I'll drink to that!

:toast:

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. There would be a lot less tons of chemicals in the drinking water IF

people employed what nature has already provided.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18566111
BACKGROUND: Observational epidemiological studies of dietary antioxidant intake, serum antioxidant concentration and lung outcomes suggest that lower levels of antioxidant defences are associated with decreased lung function.

[jody]

4. Add to that tons of pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, etc. that pour into our water source from

farms and lawns and one can't ignore the fact that we humans are poisoning our selves.

[villager]

8. Right -- they're making a distinction between "drugs" and the other "chemicals"

that are there as well!

Quite the "stew...!"

[Life Long Dem]

3. Explains gender-bending changes in fish

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16397-top-11-compounds-in-us-drinking-water.html

[DeSwiss]

15. Where have all the boys gone???

http://www.wimp.com/disappearingmale/


K&R!!!

[KoKo]

5. HA! Caught 'EM! All those reports about average Americans Fl ushing Drugs down Toilet

or Excreting them ...seemed a bit odd. Your body metabolizes much of the drugs we take and YES much is excreted down the toilet...but to have such a horrendous problem that we have "three toed frogs" and "males who have low sperm count"..plus other problems showing up in our population seemed a little too far-fetched for me.

BUT..it DOES make SENSE that if Major Drug Companies are DUMPING...then that's a HUGE Environmental disaster for ALL OF US. Minor in some ways compared to NUCLEAR DEVASTATION...but DRUGS can work LONG TIME that cause the same effect if they are in our waterways and environment over the long term ...just like RADIATION... :shrug:

[Grinchie]

14. Did you know that Calcium Fluoride is Thermo-Luminescent?

It is used widely in Radiation dosimeters, and it can be used to accurately measure certian types of radiation. Imagine my surprise when I learned that Calcium Fluoride is what flruoridated water produces in ones teeth.

[santamargarita]

6. Didn't Bush make reporting on water quality a terrorist act?

Way back, I remember reading something about this - of course we know why...

[bertman]

9. Proudly sending this to the Greatest Page. Just another example of corporate America

having no morals, no conscience, no accountability.

These people are chemists, pharmacologists, immunologists, for Christ's sake. They, more than any of the rest of us, should know that dumping these drugs into drinking water sources has huge public health implications. You'd think somebody somewhere would have tried to get this out before now.

Homo sapiens, "wise man". What a frickin joke.

[underpants]

11. We have taint in our water?

eeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwww

[glinda]

12. Drinking water from drug dumping and Excreting would 'splain

everything that is wrong with Republicans that have gone off the rails. Maybe toxicology tests on them would be a good idea.

[quidam56]

13. The End War will be fought over water, not oil or coal.

Our water quality is as important as the financial sector, we are Bushed in Appalachia. http://www.wisecountyissues.com/?p=138 Our raw water is diseased and polluted with toxic minerals. End Mountaintop Removal !

[MountainLaurel]

16. Tomorrow on Frontline: "Poisoned Waters"

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/poisonedwaters/

[superconnected]

17. Tons of released drugs taint US water

Source: associated press

By JEFF DONN, MARTHA MENDOZA and JUSTIN PRITCHARD, Associated Press Writers - Mon Apr 20, 1:45 AM PDT

- U.S. manufacturers, including major drugmakers, have legally released at least 271 million pounds of pharmaceuticals into waterways that often provide drinking water — contamination the federal government has consistently overlooked, according to an Associated Press investigation.

In this photo taken on Feb. 26, 2009, aeration basins are seen in operation at the Wilmington Wastewater Treatment Plant in Wilmington, Del. Scientists took samples from the Delaware River nearby and found elevated concentrations of the painkiller codeine that are prompting them to try and track the source of the drug; this treatment plant handles sewage from a nearby pharmaceutical factory that makes codeine. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Hundreds of active pharmaceutical ingredients are used in a variety of manufacturing, including drugmaking: For example, lithium is used to make ceramics and treat bipolar disorder; nitroglycerin is a heart drug and also used in explosives; copper shows up in everything from pipes to contraceptives.

Federal and industry officials say they don't know the extent to which pharmaceuticals are released by U.S. manufacturers because no one tracks them — as drugs. But a close analysis of 20 years of federal records found that, in fact, the government unintentionally keeps data on a few, allowing a glimpse of the pharmaceuticals coming from factories.

Read more: http://health.yahoo.com/news/ap/pharmawater_factories.html

[Earth_First]

18. THERE is your universal healthcare!

Next they'll have you believe that by drinking the water, you can preemptively treat yourself.

Of course, they'll have to charge you for it, however...

[Yavapai]

20. We have our own deep water well...

does that mean we will only have to pay the generic price???

[tabatha]

19. That is why I think drugs should be taken minimally or not at all.

If fixing a problem can result from eating better, then that is better for everyone and everything on this planet.

[Warpy]

21. The problem is that diet doesn't make it all better

for most of us who are on prescription drugs.

[tabatha]

24. Diet can prevent getting to a point where drugs can be avoided.

[Warpy]

25. Not in all cases

and certainly genetics trump lifestyle if we live long enough.

[tabatha]

26. Yes, you are right.

Sometimes genetics trumps food.

But there have been some studies indicating that good food can prevent genetic problems from surfacing.

[CLANG]

22. That's sick!

I know people that would have paid top dollar to take the codeine off their hands! :nuke: :cry:

[AllyCat]

23. Our hospital dumped everything that was NOT radioactive down the drain

until just a couple years ago. Everytime I see someone dumping a 1 liter bag of oxytocin down the drain, I wonder about all the women in pre-term labor. Or all the bleeding disorders...and a nice cold glass of heparin, coumadin, or Lovenox. It's still hard to change the old-timers' habits of dumping everything from antibiotics to hormones down the drain because it never hurts anyone they know of.

I like how the FDA guy in this article blames household dumping as the source for all this. It just couldn't be anyone else except the common man, no?