How Drugs Pollute Our Drinking Water

We expect our drinking water to be germ free, but what about drug free? You probably haven't given it much thought...but new research is showing our water is teeming with all kinds of drugs! Trace looks at what this is doing to our bodies and the environment.

Read More:
"Feminized to Extinction"
"All across the world, people are polluting waterways with estrogen."

"External Medicine: Discarded Drugs May Contaminate 40 Million Americans' Drinking Water"
"Although millions of people flush unused medications down the toilet and discharge them in bodily waste, sewage treatment plants and septic systems are not required to deal with such contaminants."

"Drugged Fish Lose Their Inhibitions, Get the Munchies"
"Dude, check out these European perch."

"Drugs Are in the Water. Does It Matter?"
"Residues of birth control pills, antidepressants, painkillers, shampoos and a host of other compounds are finding their way into the nation's waterways, and they have public health and environmental officials in a regulatory quandary."

"Flushed Drugs May Threaten Stream Ecologies"
"Most streams that flow near cities and towns are laced with drugs that escape from sewage treatment plants or pharmaceutical factories."

"Something in the water"
"Drugs have been finding their way into our water supplies for as long as they have been in use, so should we worry?"

"Intersex fish Endocrine disruption in smallmouth bass"
"Intersex and abnormal vitellogenin in smallmouth bass from portions of the Potomac watershed pose a threat to fish resources."

"How to Dispose of Unused Medicines"
"Most drugs can be thrown in the household trash, but consumers should take certain precautions before tossing them out, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)."

DNews is a show about the science of everyday life. We post two new videos every day of the week.

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[FANGwoof]

My grandma still discards her expired medicine by flushing it down the toilet. I always told her it was a bad idea, but now I can show her proof.

[blaze]

I've noticed that when people talk about this issue they don't tend to bring up how harmful it can be to combine even trace amounts of these medications.

[Dowlphin]

Indeed the root of the problem is all the artificial substances produced for medication. But people not handling drugs is only one part of the problem, and since it's distributed well, nature will always find a way to deal with those substances. The huge problem is that businesses don't give a damn about not violating the rules, because they often can with impunity. There are cases where chemical factories are evidently severely poisoning people by dumping toxic crap into rivers, and putting a stop to that is by far not as easy as you would think.
And where substances concentrate, the effects are much stronger.

[TomKaren]

If you need to get rid of expired prescription pills, just give them to the neighborhood kids.

[sekodino]

How about warning labels on the meds and requiring the pharmacists inform the patients about disposal of unused meds?

[vlfavourites]

I'm avoiding the tap water next time I'm in Amsterdam!

[Seeker]

I live in Washington, D.C. and our DNews set lives in San Francisco. No one wants to look at a guy standing in an empty studio! -- Trace

[Seeker]

Shampoos need either ammonium lauryl sulphate and ammonium laureth sulphate (detergents) to clean hair, but shampoos DON'T just clean hair. They contain chemicals to thicken, strengthen, volumize, curl, decurl, stop dandruff, add shine, control frizz, make you feel & smell sexy or manly... you get the picture. They also contain things so the product itself can be pleasing to the user -- thickeners, colors, scents, etc. Salon dot com has a great short bit about it. -- Trace

[MrKobinn]

Overmedication is surely one of the main problems... antidepressants and antianxiety pills are prescribed like if they were sweets or something. These pills will be effective just in very special cases but mostly, when these are prescribed the problem the person is having could be solved with better health, exercise, etc.

[CameronVossIT-Tech]

Sadly, when most people see expired medications they flush them without even thinking about it. Education about proper disposal is going to be essential to fighting this problem.

[thomasmizrahi]

"you have 6 seconds to freak out"
*START SHOUTING LIKE SH-T

[dannyvuong]

I would say that people could return the drugs to the pharmacies and get payed like a few dollars. But there are a few draw back to this sadly as in the economy.

[Sulfen]

You can take it to your local police department. They usually have a prescription disposal program. I've discarded hundreds of pills there from prescriptions that expired to prescriptions that I am no longer prescribed.

[LynneSkysong]

While I know this is a problem, I'm more worried about the others things we're doing to the environment... To quote Hank Green "I'm afraid that the wonderful way we live out life today, will do to us for generations to come."

[CameronVossIT-Tech]

Sadly, most people do without even thinking about it. I also have heard that the medications in our pee is infecting the water as well, but don't know if its true. (Makes sense though.)

[sidj]

Another reason to legalize cannabis! We'll need less legal, and bad drugs that way.

[Codemantic]

ive heard that cigarette butts also can seep into the soil and water systems essentially poisoning the water system

also I want his shirt!

[larissashen]

Chemically break it down into less harmful substances. Not a chemist so don't know how but that's my two cents.

[Firetiger]

I recently looked into a new material called Graphene. The only thing that can pass through it is water supposedly, does that mean that it would filter out everything else in the water including drugs?

[beebobipy]

What if you run the water through a distiller?