Traces of Drugs Found in Drinking Water
Researchers Examine Human Health Risks Posed by Prescription Drug-Contaminated Water
By GIGI STONE
Oct. 15, 2008
You cannot taste them. You cannot see them. But scientists say they are there: traces
of prescription drugs in the water that comes from many people's faucets. Scientists
say there are traces of prescription drugs in the water that comes from your faucet
and may pose long-term health risks with continued exposure. "Everything from antidepressants
to heart medication to birth control pills to caffeine" has been found in certain
drinking water, said Dr. Brian Buckley, environmental scientist at Rutgers University
in New Jersey. In his lab in New Brunswick alone, Buckley has found acne medication,
barbiturates, caffeine and birth control medication in the water system. While most
of the medicines we take are absorbed by our bodies, he said, traces do escape via
human waste and are flushed into our treatment plants, winding up in the water supply.
While the long-term health risks are unclear, there is evidence that medicines in
the water, as well as hormones and chemicals, have negatively affected frogs and
fish. "The concern is we don't know what these chemicals do in the body over a lifetime
of exposure," Buckley said.
