Drinking Water Contaminated by Prescription Drugs

The other day I saw something disturbing in a movie: the character flushed prescription medications down the toilet. How dangerous is that?

March 2008, Washington Post: "Pharmaceuticals, along with trace amounts of caffeine, were found in the drinking water supplies of 24 of 28 U.S. metropolitan areas tested."

Our drinking water is contaminated with prescription drugs. They easily enter the drinking water system and are difficult to remove. They enter the water system in two ways: First, when humans and livestock eliminate waste, they excrete some of the active components of drugs that the body didn’t absorb; this waste goes into the ground water or through sewage pipes and eventually makes its way to sewage treatment facilities and then back to our drinking water. The second way that prescription drugs infect our drinking water is from people flushing prescription drugs down the toilet.

Prescription drugs in the water pose a great concern as we can be exposed to many drugs at once and subject to their side effects. In addition, the federal government doesn't require any testing and hasn't set safety limits for drugs in water. The cost of screening for drugs is high and although some cities screen for one or two pharmaceuticals, the rest pass through undetected.

Even if you drink bottled water you are not necessarily safe from exposure. Bottled water companies do not typically treat or test for pharmaceuticals, according to the industry's main trade group.

According to water experts, the best way to remove pharmaceutical drugs and other toxins from water is by passing the water through a reverse osmosis filtering system.

Reverse Osmosis Filtering System

Reverse osmosis filtering systems pushes water through a semi-permeable membrane, allowing pure water to pass through and stopping contaminants that are too large to pass through the tiny pores in the membrane. The pores in the membrane are so small that, in conjunction with carbon filters that are usually included in reverse osmosis filtering systems, most contaminants are removed. Here is a partial list of contaminants removed by a reverse osmosis filtering system: aluminum, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chloride, chromium, copper, fluoride, magnesium, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, nitrate, selenium, silver, sulfate, zinc, asbestos, particulates, total dissolved solids, turbidity, radium, volatile contaminants (VOCs), benzene, MTBE, trichloroethylene, trihalomethanes, radon, bacteria, viruses, salts, sugars, proteins, particles, dyes, heavy metals, chlorine and related by-products, and other contaminants.

Disposing Pharmaceutical Drugs

If you need to dispose of pharmaceutical drugs take them to a hazardous waste collection facility. Some communities offer hazardous waste collection a few times a year, so call your city offices to find out.

Wishing you vibrant health,

Monica (food allergist)