If you are one of those people who think that Americans over-medicate, the following is going to be disturbing news. Drinking water in several states is contaminated by drugs. Personally, I'm less worried about my drinking water being contaminated by drugs including antibiotics, sex hormones and anti-convulsants and mood enhancers and quite grossed out by how....
People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue. Scientists are - surprise, surprise - divided in their opinions whether the contaminated water is harmful to humans or not. But surely they are seeing effects on fish - like the males laying eggs. I'm wondering how all this is going to play out in epigenome since the environmental problems that our grandparents faced can affect our genes. Will doctors in the future be able to determine that somebody had grown up in S. California where the major pollutant in the drinking water is sex hormones?
"In an age when man has forgotten his origins and is blind to his most essential needs for survival, water along with other resources has become the victim of his indifference" Rachel Carson.Labels: epigenome, Pollution |
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