Medicines in Drinking Water

Posted by Filter For Fridge on October 23rd, 2019

The disadvantages of growing industrial foods, accessible medicines and anti-aging products.

A recent threat to water

A growing concern among water experts has increased in the last decade - it seems that in the tap water there is a whole range of medicines. As if that were not enough, these drugs arrive in our homes without us being informed. Pharmaceutical products exist everywhere and are used in a variety of industries. Human or veterinary treatments are the most obvious sources of drugs, such as antibiotics and analgesics, that reach the water supply system; a considerable part of the chemical pollution comes from the agricultural sector. If we take into account the chemicals used for daily personal care, we will be able to better understand what this is about;

How bleak are the prospects

We do not metabolize the entire amount of drugs we use. Unused chemicals pass through wastewater treatment plants, enter natural water systems and affect wildlife. Researchers in Europe and North America have discovered, for several decades, in treated water, antibiotics, blood pressure-lowering substances, hormones, psychiatric and analgesic drugs. Although drinking water analyzes across the world generally show low concentrations of various drugs in the samples taken, this is not yet seen as a direct threat to public health. These drugs are not harmful to the population at a high level and there is no research or conclusive evidence on long-term exposure of humans. Some studies already show ambiguous data in studies on fish populations.

A seven-year experiment in a lake in northwestern Ontario in Canada ** showed that continued exposure to reduced estrogen concentrations and equivalent substances in wastewater led to the transformation of male fish into females. As a result, the entire population is approaching the threshold of extinction. Antidepressants and antihistamines are among the main pollutants of freshwater systems and this should not surprise us.

For example, in the US, antidepressant use increased by 65% ​​over a 15-year period, from 7.7% between 1999-2002 to 12.7% between 2011-2014 ***. A **** study conducted in the Niagara River shows that their increasing discharge into the ecosystem leads to direct bioaccumulation in fish bodies, including in the brain and liver. It is obvious that so far, no large-scale research has been conducted to study the cumulative effect of traces of pharmaceuticals in drinking water on human health in the long term.

How we can live without acne and chlorine

Existing water treatment regulations do not target the specific disposal of pharmaceuticals. To some extent it happens by itself in the classical protocols regarding municipal drinking water - chlorine can reduce up to 50% of these compounds (with the risk of chloroform formation being more toxic) *. Chloramine, an alternative to chlorine, is known to be less effective. It does not eliminate antibiotics, such as erythromycin, sulfamethoxazole or trimethoprim, which are used to cure various bacterial infections. Current regulations recommend that water treatment plants focus on more harmful contaminants, such as bacteria, lead and many other life-threatening hazards.

 Living with bottled water is not a viable option

While standardization is being developed for monitoring drinking water for pharmaceuticals, the decision of whether or not to take preventive measures is a person's choice, not a problem for government authorities. Trying to avoid exposure to drugs by using bottled water for drinking is not the best idea. By now ignoring the plastic waste they would generate, bottled water is usually plain spring water. As we already know, this water is treated without special protocols for pharmaceutical testing.

To be sure that you do not continue to unconsciously use pharmaceuticals, you should know the purification process used by a bottling company. The most reliable way to remove more than 99% of large pharmaceutical molecules is the reverse osmosis purification system, which you can install at home for unlimited personal use.