What to do about all the hormonally active drugs at concentrations found in our environment?

What to do about the antidepressants, antibiotics and other drugs in our water

water-polluted
As pharmaceuticals taint rivers and lakes, scientists search for solutions.
Bubbles Bubbles but from Where? image by John Triffo.

There’s no way around it, the headlines are disturbing. And they come, not from tabloids or click-bait blogs, but from papers published in scientific journals. They describe fish and birds responding with altered behavior and reproductive systems to antidepressants, diabetes medication, and other psychoactive or hormonally active drugs at concentrations found in the environment. They report on opiods, amphetamines and other pharmaceuticals found in treated drinking water; antibiotics in groundwater capable of altering naturally occurring bacterial communities; and over-the-counter and prescription drugs found in water leaching from municipal landfills. And these are just some of many recent studies examining the countless pharmaceuticals that are now being found just about everywhere scientists have looked for them in the environment. ”

… continue reading What to do about the antidepressants, antibiotics and other drugs in our water, ensia, Elizabeth Grossman, August 11, 2015.

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