More details on the growing concern over drugs in drinking water

An AP (Associated Press) investigation that was just released showed that 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.

In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas -- from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit, Michigan, to Louisville, Kentucky.

Here are some of the key test results obtained by the AP:

• Officials in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said testing there discovered 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts in treated drinking water, including medicines for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems. Sixty-three pharmaceuticals or byproducts were found in the city's watersheds.

• Anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications were detected in a portion of the treated drinking water for 18.5 million people in Southern California.

• Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey analyzed a Passaic Valley Water Commission drinking water treatment plant, which serves 850,000 people in Northern New Jersey, and found a metabolized angina medicine and the mood-stabilizing carbamazepine in drinking water.

• A sex hormone was detected in the drinking water of San Francisco, California.

• The drinking water for Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas tested positive for six pharmaceuticals.

The situation is undoubtedly worse than suggested by the positive test results in the major population centers documented by the AP.

Water providers rarely disclose results of pharmaceutical screenings, unless pressed, the AP found. For example, the head of a group representing major California suppliers said the public "doesn't know how to interpret the information" and might be unduly alarmed.

How do the drugs get into the water?

People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers.

But most treatments do not remove all drug residue.

A 'growing concern'

The presence of so many prescription drugs -- and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen -- in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.

"We recognize it is a growing concern and we're taking it very seriously," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, assistant administrator for water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Yet, most if not all utilities insist their water is safe.

Testing not required

The federal government doesn't require any testing and hasn't set safety limits for drugs in water.

Of the 62 major water providers contacted, the drinking water for only 28 was tested. Among the 34 that haven't: Houston, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; Miami, Florida; Baltimore, Maryland; Phoenix, Arizona; Boston, Massachusetts; and New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, which delivers water to 9 million people.

Some providers screen for only one or two pharmaceuticals, leaving open the possibility that others are present.

The AP's investigation also indicates that watersheds, the natural sources of most of the nation's water supply, also are contaminated. Tests were conducted in the watersheds of 35 of the 62 major providers surveyed by the AP, and pharmaceuticals were detected in 28.

Yet officials in six of those 28 metropolitan areas said they did not go on to test their drinking water -- Fairfax, Virginia; Montgomery County in Maryland; Omaha, Nebraska; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Santa Clara, California; and New York City.

The New York state health department and the USGS tested the source of the city's water, upstate. They found trace concentrations of heart medicine, infection fighters, estrogen, anti-convulsants, a mood stabilizer and a tranquilizer.

City water officials declined repeated requests for an interview. In a statement, they insisted that "New York City's drinking water continues to meet all federal and state regulations regarding drinking water quality in the watershed and the distribution system" -- regulations that do not address trace pharmaceuticals.

In several cases, officials at municipal or regional water providers told the AP that pharmaceuticals had not been detected, but the AP obtained the results of tests conducted by independent researchers that showed otherwise.

Of the 28 major metropolitan areas where tests were performed on drinking water supplies, only Albuquerque, New Mexico; Austin, Texas; and Virginia Beach, Virginia, said tests were negative. The drinking water in Dallas, Texas, has been tested, but officials are awaiting results. Arlington, Texas, acknowledged that traces of a pharmaceutical were detected in its drinking water but cited post-9/11 security concerns in refusing to identify the drug.

The AP also contacted 52 small water providers -- one in each state, and two each in Missouri and Texas -- that serve communities with populations around 25,000. All but one said their drinking water had not been screened for pharmaceuticals; officials in Emporia, Kansas, refused to answer AP's questions, also citing post-9/11 issues.

What About Rural Water from Wells?
What about Bottled Water?

Well water users aren't in the clear either, experts say.

Even users of bottled water and home filtration systems don't necessarily avoid exposure. Bottlers, some of which simply repackage tap water, do not typically treat or test for pharmaceuticals, according to the industry's main trade group. The same goes for the makers of home filtration systems.

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In the United States, the problem isn't confined to surface waters. Pharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground, the source of 40 percent of the nation's water supply. Federal scientists who drew water in 24 states from aquifers near contaminant sources such as landfills and animal feed lots found minuscule levels of hormones, antibiotics and other drugs.

Perhaps it's because Americans have been taking drugs -- and flushing them unmetabolized or unused -- in growing amounts. Over the past five years, the number of U.S. drug prescriptions rose 12 percent to a record 3.7 billion, while nonprescription drug purchases held steady around 3.3 billion, according to IMS Health and The Nielsen Co.

Medications not all absorbed
"People think that if they take a medication, their body absorbs it and it disappears, but of course that's not the case," said EPA scientist Christian Daughton, one of the first to draw attention to the issue of pharmaceuticals in water in the United States.

Some drugs, including widely used cholesterol fighters, tranquilizers and anti-epileptic medications, resist modern drinking water and wastewater treatment processes. Plus, the EPA says there are no sewage treatment systems specifically engineered to remove pharmaceuticals.

Veterinary drugs also play a role. Pets are now treated for a wide range of ailments -- sometimes with the same drugs as humans. The inflation-adjusted value of veterinary drugs rose by 8 percent, to $5.2 billion, over the past five years, according to an analysis of data from the Animal Health Institute.

Ask the pharmaceutical industry whether the contamination of water supplies is a problem, and officials will tell you no.

"Based on what we now know, I would say we find there's little or no risk from pharmaceuticals in the environment to human health," said microbiologist Thomas White, a consultant for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

But at a conference last summer, Mary Buzby -- director of environmental technology for drug maker Merck & Co. Inc. -- said: "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."

Recent laboratory research has found that small amounts of medication have affected human embryonic kidney cells, human blood cells and human breast cancer cells. The cancer cells proliferated too quickly; the kidney cells grew too slowly; and the blood cells showed biological activity associated with inflammation.

Also, pharmaceuticals in waterways are damaging wildlife across the nation and around the globe, research shows. Notably, male fish are being feminized, creating egg yolk proteins, a process usually restricted to females. Pharmaceuticals also are affecting sentinel species at the foundation of the pyramid of life -- such as earthworms in the wild and zooplankton in the laboratory, studies show.


So much is unknown. Many independent scientists are skeptical that trace concentrations will ultimately prove to be harmful to humans. There's growing concern in the scientific community, though, that certain drugs -- or combinations of drugs -- may harm humans over decades because water, unlike most specific foods, is consumed in sizable amounts every day.


Our bodies may shrug off a relatively big one-time dose, yet suffer from a smaller amount delivered continuously over a half century, perhaps subtly stirring allergies or nerve damage. Pregnant women, the elderly and the very ill might be more sensitive.

"We know we are being exposed to other people's drugs through our drinking water, and that can't be good," says Dr. David Carpenter, who directs the Institute for Health and the Environment of the State University of New York at Albany.


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Breaking Water Alert: AP probe reports drugs in drinking water

March 9, 2008

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.

In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas — from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit to Louisville, Ky.

Water providers rarely disclose results of pharmaceutical screenings, unless pressed, the AP found. For example, the head of a group representing major California suppliers said the public "doesn't know how to interpret the information" and might be unduly alarmed.

Read more here

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Tap Water Series: Getting the Lead Out

Recent public service and campaigns have stressed
drinking tap water. Our Tap Water Series of Articles
will help show why Tap Water may not be the best source
of your water for drinking, cooking, and even bathing.

Tap Water: Getting the Lead Out

 

This picture, of course, is an exaggeration.  The real hazard
comes from what YOU CANNOT SEE in your water!

Health Threats From Lead


Too much lead in the human body can cause serious damage to the brain, kidneys, nervous system, and red blood cells.

In babies and children, exposure to lead in drinking water above the action level can result in delays in physical and mental development, along with slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities. In adults, it can cause increases in blood pressure. Adults who drink this water over many years could develop kidney problems or high blood pressure.

Although much public outcry and concern is made over toys that may contain lead, you hear very little about whether the water that our children drink is a lead hazard.

It is estimated that lead in drinking water contributes between 10%-20% of total lead exposure in young children.
 
Sources of Lead in Drinking Water
Lead levels in your drinking water are likely to be highest if:

    * your home has faucets or fittings of brass which contains some lead,
    * your home or water system has lead pipes
    * your home has copper pipes with solder
    * the house is less than five years old
    * you have naturally soft water
    * water often sits in the pipes for several hours

Pure, clean, bottled water is a good, safe, alternate choice to help eliminate lead exposure.

 

Tap Water Series: What is in Aquafina and Dasani?

Recent public service and campaigns have stressed
drinking tap water. Our Tap Water Series of Articles
will help show why Tap Water may not be the best source
of your water for drinking, cooking, and even bathing.

Aquafina Labels: It's Tap Water?!

What about Dasani?

The label on Aquafina a bottles will soon be changed to spell out that the drink comes from the same source as tap water, the brand's owner said Friday.

A group called Corporate Accountability International has been pressuring bottled water sellers to curb what it calls misleading marketing practices.

Aquafina is the single biggest bottled water brand, and its bottles are now labeled "P.W.S." The new labels will spell out "public water source."




"If this helps clarify the fact that the water originates from public sources, then it's a reasonable thing to do," said PepsiCo spokeswoman Michelle Naughton .

The corporate accountability group is also pressing for similar concessions from The Coca-Cola Co. (nyse: KO - news - people ), which owns the Dasani water brand.

Dasani's Web site says that Dasani comes from local water supplies and is then filtered.

"We don't believe that consumers are confused about the source of Dasani water," Coca-Cola spokeswoman Diana Garza Ciarlante said. "The label clearly states that it is purified water."
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Not all bottled waters are pure, spring, or natural water as their
labels may imply. Not all bottled waters are better than tap water.
Some are just like "tap" water.

Zenergy Water does not come from a tap or any public water source.
No additives, no chemicals, no surprises.
Good for your body and good for the planet. Learn More

Do you know?

Water is the only drink for a wise man.
- Henry David Thoreau



Do you know what is in the water you drink?

Do you know what is in the water that comes out of your tap?

Do you know what is in the bottled water you purchased?

"You must live in the present, launch
yourself on every wave, find your
eternity in each moment."
-- Henry David Thoreau

Click Here to Learn More
About Why Zenergy Water should
be the choice you drink.

Is Your Body Crying For Water?

Is Your Body Crying For Water?

* Water's Role in the Body

Water helps nearly every part of the human body function. Considering that our bodies are almost two-thirds water, understanding water's important role in the body can be a fountain of health. The following are just some facts about water and it's role in the body:

* Your brain is 75% water / Moderate dehydration can cause headaches and dizziness
* Water is required for expiration
* Regulates body temperature
* Carries nutrients and oxygen to all cells in the body
* Blood is 92% water
* Moistens oxygen for breathing
* Protects and cushions vital organs
* Helps to convert food into energy
* Helps body absorb nutrients
* Removes waste
* Bones are 22% water
* Muscles are 75% water

*Statistics From The International Bottled Water Association

* Water is the main component of almost every function in your body. You cannot live without water

* According to F. Batmanghelidj, M.D., author of the book Your Body's Many Cries For Water, these are some of the things water does for you everyday:

1. Water generates electrical and magnetic energy inside every single cell in your body - it literally provides you with the "power" to live.

2. Water integrates mind and body functions. It increases the ability to realize goals and purpose.

3. Water is used to transport all substances to your cells.

4. Water increases the efficiency of the red blood cells to collect oxygen in your lungs.

5. Water brings your cells oxygen and takes the wastes away from the cells so your body can dispose of them. It cleanses your body on the cellular level!

6. Water plays an active role in your internal heating (electrical) and cooling (sweat) systems. It helps to regulate your body's temperature.

7. Water is needed for the production of hormones, enzymes, and neurotransmitters.

8. Water is a better "pick-me-up" then any other drink in the world! And, it has NO side effects!

9. Water removes deposits of toxic substances in the joints, kidneys, liver, brain, skin, and tissues caused by dehydration.

10. Drinking water helps separate the sensations of hunger and thirst. This helps you lose weight naturally as you start to recognize you are not hungry, but rather thirsty for water!

These are just a few of the many reasons to make water a priority in your day!

* Are you drinking enough water? More importantly - are you drinking the right water?

Click Here for More Information on Zenergy Water

Statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the FDA and are provided for informational purposes and are not intended for diagnosing, treatment, cure, or prevention any disease.

Dr. Mu Shik Jhon; The Water Puzzle: Hexagonal Water

Learn more at: http://www.createthechange.com/zen