drugs in our water?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080309/.../pharmawater_i

........ vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.


To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.

But the presence of so many prescription drugs — and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen — in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.

This is really quite troubling.

[pearl]

that's why we shouldn't flush our old pills down the drain or toilet...put them in the trash.

thats an excellent idea pearl. however these seem to be coming from our urine.

[pearl]

well, not much we can do about that! LOL
but pills in the drains do contribute too.

[Chandra Amaya]

It is ironic that you posted this. I just found out that the water quality testing in the city that I live ranked 40 out of 100% on the water quality scale. It has apparently been this way for a year. The surrounding cities rank 97, 98, and 99%. We had a warning to boil any water we use for cooking or drinking. We only recieved this maybe a month ago. It was then retracted and we have been told they are "working to fix the problem". I would have thought that CDC or some agency would have stepped in, but so far ...nothing. I have been buying distilled water and going to my mom's in the town next to me to refill my water jugs. Her water is at 97%. This is scary and I hate that my kids have been drinking this water for the past year. I did flush some expired medications a few weeks ago and had never thought of it contributing to this problem. I live in public housing and had only thought that I did not want to throw them in the trash were children may get a hold of the pills. I will find to find some other way. Thank you for this post.

your in TN........what town? I am in Nashville.

You know for the usual things in water, boiling is great, but somehow I doubt boiling does ANYTHING for chemicals.

[Chandra Amaya]

Originally Posted by CoyoteQueen

your in TN........what town? I am in Nashville.

You know for the usual things in water, boiling is great, but somehow I doubt boiling does ANYTHING for chemicals.

Elizabethton. it is a small town near Bristol.

[judy]

I would be concerned too if I had children in the house. They mentioned pets too.

NYC has very good water but we also have drugs in our water. It is from urine. Can you imagine how much prozac we're all really on?

It's pretty scary.

[pearl]

we should all be happy!
denver tested better than most. bottled water ain't safe cuz it's mostly tap water anyway.
but...it is a very very small amount. i don't know how it would build up because we metabolize drugs and excrete them anyway. which is how they got in there in the first place.