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Drinking water contamination mapped; Wide-ranging survey reveals low levels of some drugs and pesticides in US tap water

Posted by: Maven on December 21, 2008 at 7:35 am

From Nature News:

The most comprehensive survey so far has found a slew of drugs, personal care products, pesticides and other contaminants in drinking water being delivered to millions of people across the United States. None of the compounds appeared at levels thought to be immediately harmful to human health. But the researchers were surprised to find widespread traces of a pesticide, used largely in corn (maize) growing, that has, at higher levels, been linked to cancer and other problems.

The researchers from the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) in Las Vegas tracked 51 compounds in a survey of 19 water utilities supplying more than 28 million people. Of the 20 drugs or drug metabolites on their list, most of those that the chemists detected were at concentrations of below a microgram per litre, in source water, treated water and tap water. Their findings are published in Environmental Science & Technology.

The study unexpectedly revealed relatively high levels of the pesticide atrazine, a suspected endocrine disruptor used throughout the US corn belt (the American midwest) but banned by the European Union. The authors detected atrazine in water far from farm land and even in the source water of a plant located in the most arid part of the United States, where the pesticide is not used at all.

Atrazine could be getting into water through food and drink, the researchers suggest, with, for example, many soft drinks containing corn syrup helping the pesticide to spread through the water-treatment system. However, like the other contaminants found by the team, the levels were below the US Environmental Protection Agency’s safe maximum. For atrazine, this is 3.0 micrograms per litre; the highest value recorded by the researchers was 930 nanograms (0.93 micrograms) per litre.

Read more from Nature News by clicking here.

December 21, 2008 · Filed Under Drinking Water & Bottled Water

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