<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Exchange Server">
<!-- converted from rtf -->
<style><!-- .EmailQuote { margin-left: 1pt; padding-left: 4pt; border-left: #800000 2px solid; } --></style>
</head>
<body>
<font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">
<div style="margin-top:5pt;margin-bottom:5pt;"><b><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130401090709.htm">http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130401090709.htm</a></b></div>
<div style="margin-top:5pt;margin-bottom:5pt;"><font size="5"><span style="font-size:18pt;"> </span></font></div>
<div style="margin-top:5pt;margin-bottom:5pt;"><b>Streams Stressed by Pharmaceutical Pollution</b></div>
<div>April 1, 2013</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Science Daily</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Streams Stressed by Pharmaceutical Pollution</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Apr. 1, 2013 - Pharmaceuticals commonly found in the environment are disrupting </div>
<div>streams, with unknown impacts on aquatic life and water quality. So reports a new </div>
<div>Ecological Applications paper, which highlights the ecological cost of </div>
<div>pharmaceutical waste and the need for more research into environmental impacts.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Lead author Dr. Emma Rosi-Marshall, a scientist at the Cary Institute of </div>
<div>Ecosystem Studies, comments: "Pharmaceutical pollution is now detected in waters </div>
<div>throughout the world. Causes include aging infrastructure, sewage overflows, and </div>
<div>agricultural runoff. Even when waste water makes it to sewage treatment </div>
<div>facilities, they aren't equipped to remove pharmaceuticals. As a result, our </div>
<div>streams and rivers are exposed to a cocktail of synthetic compounds, from </div>
<div>stimulants and antibiotics to analgesics and antihistamines."</div>
<div> </div>
<div>With colleagues from Indiana University and Loyola University Chicago, </div>
<div>Rosi-Marshall looked at how six common pharmaceuticals influenced similar-sized </div>
<div>streams in New York, Maryland, and Indiana. Caffeine, the antibiotic </div>
<div>ciprofloxacin, the antidiabetic metformin, two antihistimines used to treat </div>
<div>heartburn (cimetidine and ranitidine), and one antihistamine used to treat </div>
<div>allergies (diphenhydramine) were investigated, both alone and in combinations, </div>
<div>using pharmaceutical-diffusing substrates.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Rosi-Marshall explains, "We focused on the response of biofilms -- which most </div>
<div>people know as the slippery coating on stream rocks -- because they're vital to </div>
<div>stream health. They might not look like much to the naked eye, but biofilms are </div>
<div>complex communities composed of algae, fungi, and bacteria all living and working </div>
<div>together. In streams, biofilms contribute to water quality by recycling nutrients </div>
<div>and organic matter. They're also a major food source for invertebrates that, in </div>
<div>turn, feed larger animals like fish."</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Healthy streams are slippery streams. And it turns out that antihistamines dry </div>
<div>more than our noses. The most striking result of the study was diphenhydramine's </div>
<div>effects on algal production and microbial respiration. Exposure caused biofilms </div>
<div>to experience up to a 99% decrease in photosynthesis, as well as significant </div>
<div>drops in respiration. Diphenhydramine also caused a change in the bacterial </div>
<div>species present in the biofilms, including an increase in a bacterial group known </div>
<div>to degrade toxic compounds and a reduction in a group that digests compounds </div>
<div>produced by plants and algae.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Results suggest that this antihistamine is disrupting the ecology of these </div>
<div>sensitive biofilm communities. Rosi-Marshall notes, "We know that diphenhydramine </div>
<div>is commonly found in the environment. And its effect on biofilms could have </div>
<div>repercussions for animals in stream food webs, like insects and fish. We need </div>
<div>additional studies looking at the concentrations that cause ecosystem disruption, </div>
<div>and how they react with other stressors, such as excess nutrients."</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The other pharmaceuticals investigated also had a measurable effect on biofilm </div>
<div>respiration, both alone and in combinations. More work is needed to understand </div>
<div>how drug mixtures, which most natural streams experience, impact freshwater </div>
<div>systems.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Society's dependence on pharmaceuticals is not likely to wane. Nor is its need </div>
<div>for clean, fresh water. This study adds another piece of evidence to the case </div>
<div>calling for innovations in the way we manage waste water. Currently, only a </div>
<div>fraction of the world's waste water is treated, and the infrastructure in many </div>
<div>developed nations is aging.</div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div>(Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies (2013, April 1). Streams stressed by </div>
<div>pharmaceutical pollution. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 1, 2013, from</div>
<div><font face="Courier New" size="2"><span style="font-size:10pt;"><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3" color="#AFAAA7"><span style="font-size:12pt;"><u>http://www.sciencedaily.com­</u></span></font></a><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><span style="font-size:12pt;">;
/releases/2013/04/130401090709.htm)</span></font></span></font></div>
<div> </div>
<div>Copyright 2013, Science Daily</div>
<div><font face="Calibri" size="2" color="#000099"><span style="font-size:11pt;"> </span></font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10pt;">Deborah L. DeBiasi<br>
<b>Email: Deborah.DeBiasi@deq.virginia.gov<br>
</b>WEB site address: <a href="http://www.deq.virginia.gov/"><font color="blue"><u>www.deq.virginia.gov</u></font></a><br>
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality<br>
Office of Water Permit and Compliance Assistance Programs<br>
Industrial Pretreatment/Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Program<br>
PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents</span></font></div>
<div><font face="Calibri" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt;"><a href="http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/PermittingCompliance/PollutionDischargeElimination/Microconstituents.aspx"><font face="Times New Roman" color="blue"><u>http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/PermittingCompliance/PollutionDischargeElimination/Microconstituents.aspx</u></font></a></span></font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10pt;">Mail: P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218<br>
Location: 629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219<br>
PH: 804-698-4028 FAX: 804-698-4032</span></font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="red"><span style="font-size:10pt;">Next DEA Drug Take Back event is April 27th, 2013 10- 2</span></font></div>
<div><font size="2" color="red"><span style="font-size:10pt;">See <a href="www.dea.gov"><u>www.dea.gov</u></a> for locations</span></font></div>
<div><font face="Calibri" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt;"> </span></font></div>
<div><font face="Calibri" size="2"><span style="font-size:11pt;"> </span></font></div>
</span></font>
</body>
</html>