[Pharmwaste] Top 11 compounds in US drinking water

[DeBiasi,Deborah]

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

Top 11 compounds in US drinking water 

15:38 12 January 2009 by Rowan Hooper 


 
Tap water is not as pure as it looks 

A comprehensive survey of the drinking water for more than 28 million
Americans has detected the widespread but low-level presence of
pharmaceuticals and hormonally active chemicals.

Little was known about people's exposure to such compounds from drinking
water, so Shane Snyder and colleagues at the Southern Nevada Water
Authority in Las Vegas screened tap water from 19 US water utilities for
51 different compounds. The surveys were carried out between 2006 and
2007.

The 11 most frequently detected compounds - all found at extremely low
concentrations - were:

* Atenolol, a beta-blocker used to treat cardiovascular disease

* Atrazine, an organic herbicide banned in the European Union, but still
used in the US, which has been implicated in the decline of fish stocks
and in changes in animal behaviour

* Carbamazepine, a mood-stabilising drug used to treat bipolar disorder,
amongst other things

* Estrone, an oestrogen hormone secreted by the ovaries and blamed for
causing gender-bending changes in fish

* Gemfibrozil, an anti-cholesterol drug

* Meprobamate, a tranquiliser widely used in psychiatric treatment

* Naproxen, a painkiller and anti-inflammatory linked to increases in
asthma incidence

* Phenytoin, an anticonvulsant that has been used to treat epilepsy

* Sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic used against the Streptococcus
bacteria, which is responsible for tonsillitis and other diseases

* TCEP, a reducing agent used in molecular biology

* Trimethoprim, another antibiotic

The concentrations of pharmaceuticals in drinking water were millions of
times lower than in a medical dose, and Snyder emphasises that they pose
no public health threat. He cautions, though, that "if a person has a
unique health condition, or is concerned about particular contaminants
in public water systems, I strongly recommend they consult their
physician".

Christian Daughton of the EPA's National Exposure Research Laboratory
says that neither this nor other recent water assessments give cause for
health concern. "But several point to the potential for risk -
especially for the fetus and those with severely compromised health."

Daughton says the contamination surveys help people realise how they are
intimately and inseparably connected with their environment. "The
occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the environment also serves to make us
acutely aware of the chemical sea that surrounds us," he says.

Modern life
While the US government regulates the levels of pathogens in US drinking
water, there are no rules for pharmaceuticals and other compounds, apart
from one: the herbicide atrazine. The atrazine levels measured by Snyder
and colleagues were well within federal limits.

Snyder says water utilities could make drinking water purer. But the
costs of "extreme purification" - far beyond what is needed for safety
alone - are huge in terms of increased energy usage and carbon
footprint. Ultra-pure water might not even be safe, adds Snyder.

The widespread occurrence of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors
reflects improved detection techniques, rather than greater pollution,
says Snyder. Contamination is a fact of modern life, he adds.

"As we continue to populate and aggregate, our wastes will certainly
accumulate where we live," he says. "We as a species have decided to
live a modern life, with pharmaceuticals, plastics, transportation -
therefore we must accept that there will be a certain degree of
contamination."

Journal reference: Environmental Science and Technology, in press


Deborah L. DeBiasi
Email:   dldebiasi at deq.virginia.gov
WEB site address:  www.deq.virginia.gov
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Office of Water Permit Programs
Industrial Pretreatment/Toxics Management Program
PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents
Mail:          P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA  23218 (NEW!)
Location:  629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA  23219
PH:         804-698-4028
FAX:      804-698-4032