Pharmaceuticals in our Waterways: Why Care?

It is not a new story that chemically induced changes in natural hormonal functioning have disastrous impacts on wildlife. Beginning in the 1960s researchers began studies that eventually confirmed the relationship between the pesticide DDT and reproductive failures in eagles and sea gulls (due to extreme thinning of the birds’ eggshells). In the 1980s alligators in Florida’s Lake Apopka suffered reproductive abnormalities, including feminization effects and a high egg mortality rate; these impacts were attributed to pollutants, including DDT in the lake water.

What has changed in the more than forty years since those early studies is the number and type of different chemicals entering our waterways, including those contained in pharmaceuticals and personal care products. A 2004 report by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) indicates prescription drugs use has been increasing. It further reports that over half of U.S. citizens use prescription medication, with 1 out of 6 people using three or more drugs. The NCHS study also states that increased use is particularly indicated with drug types as antidepressants, blood sugar/glucose regulators, and cholesterol lowering statins. Although not mentioned in the study, the reality of the aging baby boomer generation is also a factor in current and future increases in pharmaceutical use.

As stated previously, water treatment processes are not able to eliminate most of the harmful chemicals contained in pharmaceuticals and personal care products. In fact, some pharmaceuticals, such as antibiotics, actually kill bacteria used in wastewater treatment to break down organic waste materials. Some water, such as storm water or sewer overflow resulting from heavy rain, never reaches a treatment facility. While a few treatment techniques are available to destroy a small number of the chemicals in pharmaceuticals, they are not being put into place because of the cost and because the treatment is effective only for a single or small range of contaminants.

For more information about Pharmaceuticals in Our Waterways, please contact Cecily Smith at csmith@prairierivers.org.

Visit a compilation of websites, research studies, and news articles on pharmaceuticals in the enviroment at our Pharmaceuticals Resource Library.