What’s in our water?The disposal of drugs in our

drinking water system

Amber L. Ross Dr. R. Thron PUBH 8165 May 5, 2011 Environmental Health Project

Objectives

• Understand the modes of disposal concerning drugs in our drinking water systems.

• Understand the rate of disease cases, deaths and carcinogenic risks related to contaminated drinking water in the U.S. and other countries

• Demonstrate the need for tougher laws and penalties toward improper disposal of medications.

Understand the modes of disposal concerning drugs in our drinking water

systems• Rivers – rivers are evident by the remains on the surface moving from

higher to lower altitudes in respect to gravity.

• Streams – stream flow refers to the amount of water flowing in a river.

• Lakes – lake is where surface-water runoff (and maybe some ground-water seepage) have accumulated in a low spot, relative to the surrounding countryside.

• Toilets – has been a source used to dispense expired or unused medications which travels back to our main water source.

Antibiotic resistant medicines in the river (2009) http://cogtoronto.wordpress.com/2009/07/21/super-bacteria-in-fertilizer-breeding-more-super-bugs/

Unwanted prescribed antibiotics in the stream. (2009). http://www.targethealthglobal.com/

Duane Moser, an assistant research professor with Desert Research Institute, collects water samples from the Las Vegas Wash in Henderson, Nevada

Donn, J., Mendoza, M., Pritchard, J. (2008) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23503485/ns/health-health_care

Discarding unwanted antibiotics and liquid medicines in the toilet. (2007). http://www.charlottechd.com/EH/MedDisposal.html

Understand the rate of disease occurrences, deaths and carcinogenic risks related to

contaminated drinking water in the U.S. and other countries

• Just 10 years ago, reports show that 39 outbreaks occurred here in the U.S., and previous to that 59 outbreaks occurred involving recreational water. (Moeller, D. 2005)

• In the U.S., two deaths were reported between 1997 and 1998 due contaminated drinking water. (Moeller, D. 2005)

• Treatment plants do not test pharmaceuticals on a regular basis because no Environmental Protection Agency regulations required it to do so. (Van Dyke, A. 2009)

A girl waits to collect drinking water from a water tanker in New Delhi, (2007) Credit: Reuters/Parth Sanyal http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/07/us-bacteria-superbugs-india-idUSTRE7357W920110407

Antibiotic resistance genes have been found in bacteria in drinking water and sewage, far the hospitals the usually haunt.Gurinder Osan / AP Photo http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110407/full/news.2011.218.html?s=news_rss

Demonstrate the need for tougher laws and penalties toward improper disposal of

medications

• Currently, there are no safety limits on drugs in drinking water. (Snyder, E. 2008)

• U.S. officials are uneasy discussing these dangers. So are water utilities. For now, nothing is being done to limit drugs in the water supply. (Uehling, M. 2001)

• Treatment plants do not test pharmaceuticals on a regular basis because no Environmental Protection Agency regulations required it to do so. (Van Dyke, A. 2009)

Further Reading Online Sources

• http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/index.cfm• http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-33

97&tab=related• http://www.waterindustry.org/Water-Facts/new-polluta

nts.htm• http://waterfilterauthority.com/• http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/gwr/index

.cfm• http://www.allthingshealing.com/Organic-Living/Are-T

here-Drugs-in-Our-Water-Supply/6340

Reference

• Bynum, J. (2008). Dental diseases by bacteria in drinking water. The Watchers. [Online]. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 from http://thewatchers.us/dental_disease.html

• Chuanwu, X., Zhang, Y., Marrs, C. et. al. (2009).Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in Drinking WaterTreatment and Distribution Systems. Applied andEnvironmental Microbiology. [Online]. Retrieved on April15, 2011 fromhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2737933/

• Gleick, P. (2002). Dirty Water:Estimated Deaths from Water-Related Diseases 2000-2020. Pacific Institute Research Report. [Online]. Retrieved on April 18, 2011 from http://pacinst.org/reports/water_related_deaths/water_related_deaths_report.pdf

Reference

• King, T. (2000). Antibiotics in your drinking water. [Online]. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 fromhttp://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/food_safety/49083

• Lubick, N. (2011). Antibiotic resistance shows up in India’s drinking water. Nature. [Online]. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 from http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110407/full/news.2011.218.html

• Moeller, D. (2005). Environmental Health. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts

Reference

•Perlman, H. (2011). Earth’s Water: Rivers and Streams. U.S. G. S. [Online]. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 from http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthrivers.html

•Pioneering study finds small amounts of dairy antibiotics in groundwater. (2010). UC Davis. [Online]. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 from http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=9582

•Rastogi, N. Should you flush your drugs down the toilet. (2009). The Green Lantern. [Online]. Retrieved on April 28, 2011 from http://www.slate.com/id/2236431/

Reference

• Recommendations for clean and safe water for the 21st century. (n. d.). Water Infrastructure Network. [Online]. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 from http://win-water.org/reports/winow.pdf

• S. 3397:Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010. (2010). Gov Track. [Online]. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 from http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-3397&tab=related

• Schaaf, B. (2010). Cholera, Water, and Recovery in Haiti. Haiti Innovation. [Online]. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 from http://www.haitiinnovation.org/en/2010/10/29/cholera-water-and-recovery- haiti

Reference

•Stranahan, S. (2009). Drugs in our drinking water. AARP Bulletin Today. [Online]. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 from http://www.safemeddisposal.com/documents/AARPFeb2709.pdf

•The Health Effects Of Drinking Water Contamination. (2005). The Ralph Nader Institute. Belkraft. [Online]. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 from http://www.belkraft.com/DrinkingWaterContamination.htm

•Typhoid Fever in the United States. (2001). National Institutes of Health. [Online]. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 from http://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/releases/typhoid_background.cfm

Reference

• Uehling, M. (2001). Free drugs from your faucet. Salon. [Online]. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 from http://www.salon.com/technology/feature/2001/10/25/drugs_water

• Van Dyke, A. (2009). Dirty mouth: Water may not be clean. Kansan. [Online]. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 from http://www.kansan.com/news/2009/sep/14/tap_water

• Wallinga, D. (2004). Concentrated animal feeding operations: Health risks from water pollution. Institute for agriculture and trade policy. [Online]. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 from http://www.healthobservatory.org/library.cfm?refID=37390

Reference

• Water related Diseases. (2001). World Health Organization. [Online]. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 from http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/en

• Xi, C., Zhang, Y., Marrs, C., Ye, W., Simon, C., Foxman, B., Nriagu, J. (2009). Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in Drinking Water Treatment and Distribution SystemsAppl. Environ. Microbiol. Retrieved on April 15, 2011 from http://aem.asm.org/cgi/reprint/AEM.00382-09v1