A side effect of our medicine-go-lucky culture is a cabinet full of expired drugs and no easy way to dispose of them safely.
Back in the day, we just flushed them away. Then we got the bad news—widespread contamination of streams by pharmaceuticals, according to a 1999-2000 study by the U.S. Geological Survey. Next, we learned from a 2008 investigation by the Associated Press that there were drugs in the drinking water supplies of 41 million Americans.
Why do we have this problem? Our bad flushing habit is one reason, as is human excretion of drug residues. Other causes include improper drug disposal by medical facilities, agricultural practices and landfill leaching.
Water treatment plants don't usually screen or treat water for drugs, which is why drugs tossed in the toilet return to us through the tap. They also return through the bottle, as many a brand of bottled water is simply tap water in plastic packaging.
Humans aren't the only ones affected. Many animals get a daily dose of drugs at their local watering hole. Worse, many fish and other aquatic animals live in a pharmaceutical soup.
You can read the rest of the article at NRDC.
Sensei Chris Feldt
Samurai Karate Studio
Columbia, SC 29229
803-462-9425
samuraikaratestudio@gmail.com
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