Pharmaceuticals Kady Allen Pharmaceuticals are substances such as

Pharmaceuticals Kady Allen

• Pharmaceuticals are substances such as: -fragrances -cosmetics -drugs such as antibiotics, anti-depressants, birth control pills, seizure medication, cancer treatments, pain killers, tranquilizers, and cholesterol-lowering compounds

No laws exist to protect the public from pharmaceuticals • In 2008, an AP investigation found that at least 46 million Americans are drinking water contaminated with some amounts of pharmaceuticals

• People dispose of unused medicines by flushing them down toilets • It is frequently discharged from sewage treatment plants, pharmaceutical industries, hospitals, and other medical facilities • People who take prescription and over-thecounter drugs will excrete them also

• it can affect the young fish so they can’t respond as fast to stimuli • fluoride is poisonous so we have water that is slowly killing some Americans and depressing the health of almost everyone who drinks and showers in it

"Based on what we now know, I would say we find there's little or no risk from pharmaceuticals in the environment to human health, " said Thomas White, a consultant for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, in a Dallas Morning News article about the AP investigation. Yet, a 2006 study by researchers from the University of Insubria simulated drug-tainted water by creating a low-level mixture of various drug residues and testing it on embryonic cells. They discovered that, even at low doses, the drug residues actually stopped cells from reproducing

• Many states are pushing for drug waste legislation • Upgrade wastewater treatment facilities so they can properly filter out pharmaceuticals and dispose of them safely • Drug companies must be held responsible for their wastewater!!

http: //www. chbr. noaa. gov/peiar http: //www. epa. gov/ppcp/ http: //www. naturalnews. com/023565_water_lead_drinking. htm l http: //www. naturalnews. com/029314_waterways_contaminatio n. html http: //www. dtsc. ca. gov/Assessing. Risk/PPCP/index. cfm