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Article: EMPTYING OUR MEDICINE CABINETS INTO OUR WATERS.
- Article from:
- Earth Island Journal
- Article date:
- January 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Earth Island Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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When you pop a pill, it doesn't stop there Pharmaceuticals given to people and domestic animals -- including antibiotics, hormones, painkillers, tranquilizers, and chemotherapy drugs given to cancer patients -- are turning up in surface, ground and tap water. Increasingly, large quantities of drugs excreted by humans and domestic animals are being distributed into the environment by flushing toilets and by spreading manure and sewage sludge onto and into soil.
German scientists report that anywhere from 30 to 60 drugs can be measured in a. typical water sample. The concentrations of some drugs in water are comparable to the low parts-per-billion (ppb) levels at ...