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Thursday, December 31, 2009

EPA Expands Regulation of Drugs in Water

Though lobbyists and those who work for large pharmaceutical companies would tell you the water is safe, scientists and environmental researchers point to the dozens of pharmaceuticals found in drinking water. Though these chemicals are in the parts per billion or trillion, way below medical dosage, there is fear among researchers that even small amounts of medication can harm people over decades, especially those who take other drugs, children, and pregnant women.

As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency is expanding efforts to remove pharmaceutical residue from the water and treating them as environmental pollutants. Since the Obama administration started a year ago, federal regulators have made a sharp shift from the last decade’s refusal to do anything about this issue.

Now, the EPA has come up with a list of pharmaceuticals that should be regulated, as well as started a survey to see which kinds of drugs show up in water plants across the country. The FDA announced a goal of having unused medications returned rather than flushed, and updated their list of waste drugs that can be flushed. The National Toxicology Program is researching how low levels of a bevy of drugs effects human health.

The EPA’s study will now look at 50 water plants for 200 chemical and microbial contaminants. There are 125 pharmaceuticals on this list. The EPA has already put 13 pharmaceuticals on their Contaminant Candidate List. While parts per billion or trillion may not seem like a serious threat, consider that most of the pharmaceuticals on this list are sex hormones. Also included are erythromycin, an antibiotic, and other chemicals that can be used for drugs, but have better uses.

According to the report, these chemicals will join a list of over a hundred chemicals and over ten microbial contaminants already under consideration for candidacy for regulation. Contaminants already on this list include formaldehyde, metal cobalt, the rocket fuel perchlorate, and the germ E. coli.

If you believe your or a loved one has become ill from pharmaceuticals or chemicals in the drinking water, please contact the experienced toxic tort attorneys at the Cochran Firm. We serve clients nationwide.

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posted by Benjamin A. Irwin at 9:44 AM

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