Wastewater Treatment Processes May Increase Drugs In Water
By Sara Jerome,
@sarmje
The industry has recognized that waste plants struggle to remove drugs from water. But now scientists say treatment plants not only fail to treat pharmaceuticals effectively, they may actually make the problem worse.
“Microbes seem to be making pharmaceuticals out of what used to be pharmaceuticals,” said Benjamin Blair, the lead author of a new study.
Blair and his team tested wastewater before treatment and after treatment at a plant near Milwaukee. "They found that two drugs — the anti-epileptic carbamazepine and antibiotic ofloxacin — came out at higher concentrations than they went in. The study suggests the microbes that clean our water may also piece some pharmaceuticals back together," Environmental Health News reported.
Carbamzepine increased on average by 80 percent after the treatment process. Ofloxacin increased by 120 percent. "Such drugs, and their metabolites (formed as part of the natural biochemical process of degrading and eliminating the compounds), get into the wastewater by people taking them and excreting them. Flushing drugs accounts for some of the levels too," the report said.
Other studies have yielded similar findings to Blair's. "Canadian researchers in Ontario found [comparable results] when they tested water in a Peterborough plant. It was not clear to the team why only two drugs of the 48 increased in the cleaning process," The Independent reported.
Drugs in water are on the government's radar. Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) are not regulated, but they are on the EPA’s list of contaminants that may warrant more oversight.
The U.S. Geological Survey, a federal bureau, released a study last year about the threat of drugs released into the environment through wastewater. The study found that treated municipal groundwater released back into the rivers and streams can sometimes result in groundwater carrying traces of pharmaceuticals and other contaminants.