Flushing Pharmaceuticals

We've got rumblings of an emerging environmental issue on the horizon.

From the Washington Post:

Academics, state officials and environmental advocates are starting to question whether massive amounts of discarded pharmaceuticals, which are often flushed down the drain, pose a threat to the nation's aquatic life and possibly to people.

In waterways from the Potomac to the Brazos River in Texas, researchers have found fish laden with estrogen and antidepressants, and many show evidence of major neurological or physiological changes.

[ ... ]

Thomas White, an environmental consultant for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), said industry studies indicate there are "no appreciable human health risks" and no "appreciable impacts on the aquatic environment" linked to drugs in the water.

In recent months, however, scientists have issued a series of findings suggesting that discarded drugs, which pass through municipal wastewater systems and into rivers, lakes and streams, could affect the environment. In 2002, a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study found these kinds of contaminants in 80 percent of the 139 streams it sampled in 30 states. Other researchers suspect that hormones and medicines in the water may be responsible for effects on wildlife that include feminizing male fish and making others sluggish or uninterested in eating.

The fact that people are flushing unused pharmaceuticals is a given. As to whether there are massive amounts being flushed hasn't been proven and it seems unlikely that sufficient quantities are being flushed by average citizens to dramatically alter the ecological balance of streams and rivers. Scientific methods of analysis have matured to the degree that minute traces of foreign elements are detectable which means that just about anything conceivable can be found in the water, but that doesn't mean there is reason for alarm.

In any event, there are people who believe that the issue's profile needs to be raised so that additional funds will be allocated for further study. And, disturbingly, some officials want a mandated program, paid for by drug makers, to have the public return unused pharmaceuticals to the manufacturer for disposal. I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Nonetheless, the activists efforts have not been very successful thus far.

In conclusion, we can probably expect the environmental activists to focus on raising the alarm level by continuously reminding us that our tuna, salmon, and shellfish have been exposed to antibiotics, steroids, and painkillers. Personally, since all the drugs have been tested and approved for human use, you'd think that trace amounts in fish wouldn't be harmful.