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Probe Finds Drugs in Drinking Water - A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows. What's in the Water?
Tests were conducted in 35 of 62 major U.S. watersheds, the natural sources of most of the nation's water supply. Pharmaceuticals were detected in 28 of them.
Philadelphia: 56 pharmaceuticals or pharmaceutical byproducts, including medicines used to treat pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems
New York City: Heart medication, infection fighters, estrogen, anti-convulsants, a mood stabilizer and a tranquilizer
New Orleans: Pain reliever naproxen, sex hormone estrone and the byproduct of an anti-cholesterol drug
Southern California Watershed: Anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications
Washington, D.C.: Six pharmaceuticals
Northern New Jersey: Metabolized angina medicine and the mood-stabilizing drug carbamazepine
Upstate New York Watershed: Caffeine
San Francisco: Sex hormone
MSNBC added: “When water providers find pharmaceuticals in drinking water, they rarely tell the public. When researchers make the same discoveries, they usually don’t identify the cities involved. There are plenty of reasons offered for the secrecy: concerns about national security, fears of panic, a feeling that the public will not understand — even confidentiality agreements.”
Read more in Tainted drinking water kept under wraps
Do you think that bottled water is way to go? Bottled water usually comes from a reasonably good source, such a spring. The microbial pollution is eliminated by ozone. The organic or inorganic contaminants are not treated. Plus the use of plastic bottles results in additional contaminants leaching out into the water. Despite of these facts, over 30% of Americans buy bottled water even the prices climbed up to $2.00 per gallon.
What is the solution? The Water Quality Association, WQA, says more than 40% of Americans already treat their water at home. Is it the way to go? Owing to the low efficiency of municipal providers, probably ‘in-home treatment systems’ are only way to solve the problem. There is variety of products available on market. You should look for filtration that effectively treats for multiple contaminants, such chlorine, lead, mercury and iron, as well as organics such as the gasoline oxygenate methyl terry-butyl ether. But if you really want water which support your bodily functions than you need to look for systems, which convert water into a form that is much more compatible with mammalian physiologies. For more details see Living Water.

Tags: Drugs Contaminants Polluted Drinking Water

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