Australia - Many drugs found in water supply

Many drugs found in water supply
by Jared Reed
Never mind the Polypill, simple tap water can expose drinkers to a cocktail of pharmaceuticals and hormonally active chemicals, a new report shows.
This week’s New Scientist reports a study in which US scientists found that tap water contains significant levels of many pharmaceutically active chemicals, reflecting the widespread prescribing of lipid lowering drugs, NSAIDs and beta blockers.
The findings are similar to those of a 2004 Australian water study, which found that 20 drugs were present in drinking water in levels above 1 ug per litre (Chemosphere 54:355–367).
While compounds in the US study were found at extremely low levels, posing no public health threat, experts say that contamination surveys help people realise how interconnected they are with their environment.
“The occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the environment also serves to make us acutely aware of the chemical sea that surrounds us,” says Christian Daughton from the US Environmental Protection Agency.
A Sydney Water spokesperson said that water in Sydney was tested for up to 70 different health-related and aesthetic characteristics, disinfected using chlorination and chloramination, and contained fluoride.
13 January 2009