Unsafe Water Found in AP Probe: No Area Unaffected
Update: Now we know why New York is the city that never sleeps! (3-11-08)
What tastes better on a hot summer day than a tall glass of cold water? Spend an hour or two mowing the lawn in the heat, and the only thing that is going to quench that thirst is water. But 
this news is enough to make you avoid your home tap water for a very long time. Or at least, make you wish you could avoid it. Human beings must have water in order to live. Consequently this problem is one that affects every one of us.
A probe has discovered that our drinking water supplies are contaminated with drugs. All kinds of drugs: Anti-epileptics, hormones, heart medications, antibiotics, steroids and even over the counter medications.
While there isn’t exactly a “cover-up,” the water companies have not been terribly forthcoming about this problem. The AP probe found that this information isn’t just handy for the average person and it took a little pressure to find the results of the testings. One authority in the water supply business said, that the public “doesn’t know how to interpret the information” and might be unduly alarmed.”
???? Unduly? We are drinking unknown amounts of unknown medications and doing it for a lifetime? That just can’t be good for anyone.
“We know we are being exposed to other people’s drugs through our drinking water, and that can’t be good.”
Dr. David Carpenter, Institute for Health and the Environment of the State University of New York at Albany
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There are a couple of arguments that come along with this very disturbing situation:
- What is the long term effect of a lowered, yet steady, dose of multiple medications?
- How do we get those medications out of drinking supply?
The answers aren’t quite as easy. As of this date, the government has not required testing for medications in our drinking supply and even if they did, they have not established the numbers that would determine whether a particular water sample is contaminated or not.
“There’s no doubt about it, pharmaceuticals are being detected in the environment and there is genuine concern that these compounds, in the small concentrations that they’re at, could be causing impacts to human health or to aquatic organisms.”
Mary Buzby, Director of Environmental Technology for Merck & Co. Inc.
Wow! An employee of a major pharmaceutical company is saying that their drugs let loose in the water supply might not be safe? I can’t help but wonder if she still has a job.
The probe uncovered that 41 million people are subjected to “recycled” medications in their water. 41 million is going to end up to be a conservative estimate however, because not all of the major metropolitan areas were tested. It is safe to assume this is a nationwide, if not worldwide, problem.
And if you are thinking that you are safe because you only drink bottled water, you’re wrong. Many bottled water companies are simply bottling tap water. Others still have to get their water from the same basic sources that all water originates from. The contamination is everywhere. Private wells are affected too; it isn’t just major metropolitan areas. There is just no hiding from this problem.
As with most studies and reports, more questions have been raised than answers. What we are going to do about this is unknown, but the alarms are sounding. Meanwhile people are sicker than ever, more prescriptions are given than ever, and the water just keeps taking the excess.