Scientists Discover Prescription Pills May Cause Problems for Water Quality
By Donna Parker • Feb 8th, 2010 • Category: Health News, Water Quality
While oral chelation therapy may help remove all of the excess metals that are in an individual’s body from factors such as tainted drinking water, a new study is suggesting that medication remnants can be found in water as well.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection found that tiny amounts of medication ranging from antidepressants to birth controls are tainting the state’s water, which can be detrimental to both humans and fish, according to MSNBC.
Discarded drugs were found in water at three landfills in Maine, which may have infiltrated the state’s rivers. Previous studies have shown that flushing drugs down the toilet can result in tainted water, but no one was able to determine what would happen if the drugs were discarded in the trash.
"People need a way to properly dispose of their drugs, and they’re not getting it right now," Mark Hyland, director of the state Department of Environmental Quality’s Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management, told the news provider.
According to Science News, the state is considering a take back bill that will allow individuals to return their unused medications to drug companies.
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