We’ve long been told, by both the medical establishment and the generals of the War on Some Drugs, that we should only ingest medication that’s been properly prescribed for us my trained medical personnel. Well, guess what?
A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.
To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe.
But the presence of so many prescription drugs — and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen — in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health.
(And, as one of my colleagues observed, suggests that there’s much more water, um, “recycling” going on than most of us were aware of.)
The Austin Statesman provides the full list.
So much for our right to biochemical privacy! (When will the property rights advocates start to get riled by this modern version of criminal trespass?)