Offering insight into the Associated Press' drinking water probe
The recent investigation into the nation's drinking water by the Associated Press has shed light into work that's been conducted for numerous years by researchers like Craig Adams, the John and Susan Mathes Missouri Chair of Environmental Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Here's his take on pharmaceuticals and our drinking water.
“Clearly, the most important concern is that humans could become exposed to antibiotic-resistant bacteria,” Adams says. “The role of antibiotics in drinking water treatment plants in the formation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is currently unknown. However, the formation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment is one of the most important public health issues for the new century.”Adams’ study shows that while many surface and groundwater supplies in the United States contain antibiotics, commonly used water treatment processes should be able to remove those antibiotics effectively, should health and environmental officials one day require and regulate their removal.
“Many other pharmaceuticals may even be of greater concern in drinking water,” Adams says. “For example, hormonally-active compounds such as estrogens have powerful effects on human metabolism even at extremely low concentrations. Analgesics, cytostatics and antipsychotic drugs in drinking water are also of particular concern.”Recent research by Adams and others has pointed towards the best ways to control and remove pharmaceuticals from drinking water. “This is important if it is determined that pharmaceuticals need to be removed from the drinking water due to health effects or regulatory requirements,” Adams says.