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Britain
Prozac 'found in drinking water'
2004-08-08
Unfortunately, not enough.
Traces of the antidepressant Prozac can be found in the nation's drinking water, it has been revealed. An Environment Agency report suggests so many people are taking the drug nowadays it is building up in rivers and groundwater. A report in Sunday's Observer says the government's environment watchdog has discussed the impact for human health. A spokesman for the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) said the Prozac found was most likely too highly diluted.
Clare Short definitely should be drinking a gallon a day.
The newspaper says environmentalists are calling for an urgent investigation into the evidence. It quotes the Liberal Democrats' environment spokesman, Norman Baker MP, as saying "I definitely am not gettnig my daily minimum amount of Prozac" the picture emerging looked like "a case of hidden mass medication upon the unsuspecting public". He says: "It is alarming that there is no monitoring of levels of Prozac and other pharmacy residues in our drinking water." Experts say the anti-depression drug gets into the rivers and water system via treated sewage water. The DWI said the Prozac was unlikely to pose a health risk as it was so "watered down". The Observer says the revelations raise new fears over how many prescriptions for the drug are given out by doctors. In the decade leading up to 2001, the number of prescriptions for antidepressants went up from nine million per year to 24 million per year, says the paper.
Which all began after Maggie Thatcher stepped down.
The exact amount of Prozac in the nation's drinking water is not known.
Posted by:Steve White

#5  I take W.C Fields' advice, and never drink water.
Posted by: mojo   2004-08-08 4:59:26 PM  

#4  While seemingly innocuous, this has the potential to become a substantial problem. Phthalates found in plasticizers (used in Saran wrap, can liners and many flexible plastics) are now being connected to increasing "intersex" (mingled genital formation) populations in fish, alligators and other wildlife. Pseudo-estrogenic compounds found in food packaging and those excreted by human birth control users may be altering the sexual expression of other species. These compounds, known as hormone-mimics are being identified as "endocrine disruptors" which may affect the gender outcome and genital formation of some wildlife. There are ongoing investigations into connections between these chemicals and the global decline of human sperm counts.

Phthalates, largely used as plasticisers, have long been suspected in connection with rising infertility rates, particularly among men. These substances are quite common and are considered highly hazardous to human health because they disrupt the hormonal balance and impair reproduction and development.

In this same vein, increasing quantities of excreted anti-depressants now appearing in our waterways may have unanticipated effects upon the behavior of wildlife. These psychoactive compounds may cause subtle alterations in mating behavior and breeding patterns. The PPB and PPT concentrations sound negligible, but much higher levels may be present at sewage processing outfalls and waste disposal facilities.

In the short term studies, the antibiotics and cholesterol drug at concentrations of just 10 parts per billion appear to stunt growth and result in more male offspring. In the long term studies, these differences were diminished: offspring exposed to the antibiotics tended to have longer lifespans, while those exposed to the cholesterol lowering drug showed no apparent effects.

Exposure to the antidepressant produced no differences in the shorter trials, but did result in a greater number of offspring in the longer studies. "When Daphnia were exposed to a single pharmaceutical throughout their entire [30 day] life span, as in the long term studies, they seemed to become acclimated to the polluted environment," Flaherty said.

When Flaherty exposed the organisms to a combination of the cholesterol drug and the antidepressant during the short term studies, up to 90 percent of them died. Their offspring were more likely to be female, and to have deformities that hinder swimming.
EMPHASIS ADDED

While it is premature to sound alarms over this issue, it certainly merits close attention. A more significant problem lies in how our populations are increasingly medicated in daily life. The potentially negative downstream effects of altering brain chemistry with powerful neuro-chemical drugs may take decades to manifest fully.
Posted by: Zenster   2004-08-08 4:40:25 PM  

#3  dude! use www.tinyurl.com to shrink those page-size-busting urls...
Posted by: Frank G   2004-08-08 3:50:23 PM  

#2  This is just a proof that our labs are very very good at detecting substances. Se the 2002 article linked:

"Among the other drugs discovered by Mr. Metcalfe and scientists at Environment Canada's National Water Research Institute in Burlington, Ont., but not included in the study, were antibiotics, Prozac and drugs common in birth-control pills.

All of the pharmaceuticals have been found in extremely low concentrations, in some cases one part per billion and one part per trillion."
Posted by: Mike   2004-08-08 3:15:16 PM  

#1  That explains lots. Maybe not? sigh.
Posted by: FlameBait93268   2004-08-08 4:49:54 AM  

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