Los Angeles drinking water, along with water supplies in 24 other metropolitan areas around the country, recently tested positive for low levels of pharmaceuticals.
A five-month investigation by the Associated Press found that drinking water supplies across the country contained trace amounts of pharmaceuticals ranging from over-the-counter pain medications to sex hormones and steroids, raising questions about potential long-term consequences to human health.
According to the AP report, the concentrations are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion and far below the levels of a medical dose.
Leading scientists and water utility experts said the water is likely safe, but said more studies needed to be conducted to determine long-term risks.
“More research is needed to determine the long term toxicological effects of these drugs,” said Mel Suffet, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the UCLA School of Public Health. “Studies of treatment plants need to be done to control the material and minimize the material that can potentially be in our water supply.”
While the long-term effects are unknown, Suffet said environmental effects have indicated the potential harm of these drugs. “I think the ecological impacts give us an indication that there may be a problem,” said Suffet. “Studies have shown the feminization of fish in the environment due to these compounds.”
Suffet said feminization of fish, or the process of males reversing genders, was caused by female hormones present in the water.
Federal law requires water providers to distribute annual consumer confidence reports that reveal levels of regulated contaminants detected in the water.
But like pharmaceuticals, contaminants which are not on the US Environmental Protection Agency List, are not required to be reported.
Water utility officials, however, insist that the water is safe.
Bart Koch, Chemistry Unit manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, said the amount of pharmaceuticals was negligible, and it would require a mass dosage to create harm.
“Exposure to the therapeutic doses of these pharmaceuticals would mean people have to drink an equivalent of 120 Olympic size pools a day,” Koch said. “Regulators need to first establish the health effects of these compounds, before we can start implementing policies.”
Koch said ozone treatment of water, which oxidizes harmful compounds into less-harmful substances, had shown to be a promising method for treating the compounds, but widespread implementation was contingent upon a more definite study.
Officials at the EPA said that they will begin studies reviewing human epidemiological data and animal studies in determining the risk to human health.
Jen Kim, a CALPIRG organizer at UCLA, said people have the right to know what’s in their drinking water and government officials should take responsibility.
“Officials should be making sure that people are drinking safe water,” Kim said. “It’s a basic necessity and people shouldn’t have to worry about what’s in it, or what’s not in it.”
To better deal with the pharmaceuticals and minimize their spread, Suffet suggested an organized campaign in which people could drop off old pills at select locations instead of flushing them down the toilet.
“People throw away old bottles of pills that do not completely metabolize. Any product that is used by people will eventually get in the wastewater,” Suffet said.
“We’re the recycling generation; we can set up stations at supermarkets where people can throw away old pills and dispose of them there.”
In response to the investigation, two U.S. senators have called for hearings to address public safety, which are scheduled for April.