[Pharmwaste] Little testing being done locally of Rx drug levels in water (article from IN)

[Tenace, Laurie]

http://www.wsbt.com/health/Little-testing-being-done-locally-of-drug-levels-in-water-99741924.html


Little testing being done locally of prescription drug levels in water

You've probably read or heard that scientists have found prescription drugs in water.

For example, the Alliance for the Great Lakes reports that cholesterol-modifying drugs and a nicotine byproduct were among the pharmaceutical compounds found in Lake Michigan.

Some of the same drugs also were found in Lake Erie, along with ibuprofen, caffeine and an anticonvulsant.

But there apparently has been little or no testing for pharmaceuticals in local water.

There are no standards for pharmaceuticals in drinking water or in water discharged from wastewater treatment plants.

One local person most concerned about the issue is Marc Nelson, environmental health services manager with the St. Joseph County Health Department.

His concern comes because scientists believe the vast majority of the drugs found in water are not unused drugs disposed of improperly.

They are drugs not metabolized in the bodies of the people who take them and end up in the environment through human waste.

Nelson believes there probably are pharmaceuticals in small concentrations in private wells in the northeastern part of the county.

That's because waste in private septic tanks gets through the sandy soil there and into the groundwater, according to Nelson.

"It's becoming a greater and greater problem," Nelson said of prescription drugs in the water.

He said a layer of clay underground in the southern part of the county protects the groundwater there.

South Bend and Mishawaka get their water from deep wells, deep enough that the people who operate the water departments believe the drinking water is safe from the problem.

Jim Schrader, general manager of Mishawaka Utilities, said that so far, drugs have been found in surface water.

"Fortunately we don't have that issue with deep water wells," he said.

Dave Tungate, director of South Bend Water Works, said that city has nine wellfields with 30 wells, all of them at least 120 feet deep.

He believes there may have been some pharmaceuticals in surface water for some time.

Testing for low levels of prescription drugs is just now becoming available.

The city of St. Joseph gets its water from Lake Michigan, but water superintendent Greg Alimenti said the city doesn't test for pharmaceuticals.

He said testing is expensive and isn't yet required by the federal or state governments.

Alimenti believes eventually there will be standards because of public concern over the issue.

Wastewater treatment plants also don't test for pharmaceuticals in the water they discharge. Cost and lack of regulations are cited as the reasons.

Jack Dillon, superintendent of wastewater treatment in South Bend, said the cities already test for "a couple hundred contaminants."

Karl Kopec, manager of the wastewater treatment plant in Mishawaka, believes the plant removes some of the pharmaceuticals in treated water.

He said the Mishawaka plant removes 90 percent of the mercury that goes through it, even though it was not designed to remove mercury.

Everybody is waiting for direction from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and, hopefully, lower prices on the testing.

Ernesta Jones, from the EPA press office, sent out an e-mail saying the agency "remains committed to improving our understanding of pharmaceuticals in water."

"We continue to work to better understand the occurrence, risk and treatment of pharmaceuticals in water, as well as methods for preventing pharmaceuticals from entering water," the statement continued. "EPA will continue to use the best science to address environmental and health concerns posed by pharmaceuticals in water."

Local officials stressed that unused medicine should not be flushed down the toilet, even though that accounts for little of the drugs in water.

Instead, unused drugs should be put in the trash if you can't find any facilities that will accept them.Staff writer Sue Lowe: slowe at sbtinfo.com (574) 247-7758 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting

Laurie Tenace
Environmental Specialist
Waste Reduction Section
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Rd., MS 4555
Tallahassee FL 32399-2400
P: 850.245.8759
F: 850.245.8811
Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us

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