subject: Drugs In Water? Vital Tap Water Facts You Should Know About. [print this page] Are there prescription drugs in water? Are there prescription drugs in water?
How many on the American continent would answer No to that question? Too many, because and I say this as one who would have answered the same at one time, they would be wrong. These drugs have been found during testing and they present us with serious health concerns and practical issues. The removal of drugs from municipal and independent water supplies is a big challenge for the private or public suppliers and a lot of time will pass before we have success in protecting communities and their wildlife from health risks like these. While ever people are taking these pills there will be signs of them in our water supply.
As we now have substantial information highlighting this source of pollution it's a good move to take the precautions needed to remove other peoples medication from our drinking water.
It's not only finding drugs in our drinking water that should concern us. There are other unexpected sources of contamination that we need to know about. The methods and substances used at water treatment systems can contribute to the pollutants found in drinking water that is provided. The operation usually requires that potent water additives be used to remove bacteria. Even after treatment there can be residues of impurities from the chemicals used. We then have disinfection byproducts (DPB's) and at certain levels these can cause health issues.
So what can we do to protect ourselves from DPB's and any drugs in our drinking water? A step that is recommended by many is to install a point of use water filter in our homes. A general piece of advice worth accepting is to learn about the advantages of a dual filter system. Especially if it uses a combination of carbon filtration, ion exchange and sub-micron filtration to filter away contaminants. The goal should also be to produce healthy water that is a joy to drink direct from the faucet. Also remember that activated carbon is recognized by the U.S. EPA as the best available technology for filtering SOCs, VOCs and THMs.
Why should this information be of interest to us? Most prescription drugs and pharmaceuticals are what are called synthetic organic chemicals (SOCs) and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) and can be filtered out with quality home water filtration. Look for systems that are certified for the reduction of VOCs and THMs to address this issue.
