Theos-Talk Archives (August 2004 Message tt00186)

In 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released the first study of pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater-related chemicals in streams across the nation. Most sites were downstream of urban and farming areas where wastewater is known or suspected to enter streams. 


The study showed that: 


a.. Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater-related chemicals have been detected at very low concentrations in streams across the U.S. 
b.. Many of the chemicals examined (81 of 95) do not have drinking-water standards or health advisories. Measured concentrations of compounds that do have standards or criteria rarely exceeded any of them. 
c.. Among the chemicals detected were: human and veterinary drugs (including antibiotics), natural and synthetic hormones, detergents, plasticizers, insecticides, and fire retardants. 
d.. Some of the compounds most frequently detected include: coprostanol (a fecal steroid), N-N-diethyltoluamide (an insect repellant), caffeine, triclosan (an antimicrobial disinfectant), tri (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (a fire retardant), and 4-nonylphenol (a detergent by-product). 
e.. 38 chemicals were found in a single water sample. 

This week, an update on that report will be released, says Herb Buxton, coordinator of the United States Geological Survey's Toxic Substances Hydrology Program. 


The news is not good: "The compounds we use in small amounts can get significantly concentrated because of how we handle wastewater," Buxton tells WebMD. "Our filtration systems aren't built to treat these kinds of chemicals -- organic chemicals. We need more sophisticated technology to filter them." 


Most problematic, Buxton says, is whether antibiotics in the environment cause antibiotic resistance. Also, could natural human hormones as well as synthetic hormones (birth control pills, hormone supplements, and estrogen-like compounds such as detergents) affect fertility? 


His data will be used by the American Waterworks Association, the EPA, the FDA, and other agencies to address those questions. 

Andrew Weishaupt Smith
Master Sergeant, USA/USAF (Ret.)
"Human kind
Cannot bear very much reality." --- T.S. Eliot
"In uisgebeatha est veritas."

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