The Dangers Of Drugs In The Drinking Water

Over the years, there have been many reports of pharmaceutical drugs being found in drinking water supplies. There have been many newspaper reports on how there has come to be drugs in the drinking water supplies. These drugs have been cancer and psychiatric treatment type medication.

The way old medicines are disposed of needs to be reviewed. One of the theories of how the medicines got into the supply was that the pharmaceutical companies were dumping them through pollution into rivers and reservoirs. These pharmaceutical companies were also advising the health boards to dispose of unused and out of date medicines by flushing them down the toilet. The other option that these companies have considered is to dump them in landfill sites. However this could easily lead to the medication finding it way onto the street.

The levels of the medication found in the supplies are thought to be too low to cause any major risks. However, doctors are worried that pregnant women come into contact with the pharmaceutical products and these could affect the unborn baby. Although the levels found are absolutely safe for most adults and children, it may be more harmful for unborn babies. Studies have found that adults drinking around four glasses daily, would consume levels of medicines well below the level considered safe.

It is thought that the medication could also enter the supplies through the medicines we take and then pass through our bodies when we go to the toilet, this waste then enters the sewers, gets treated and then passed into the rivers and streams.

As well as the medication being present in the supply, there are also many harmful chemicals and parasites. Although there are treatments available to cleanse the supply, the companies are not properly equipped to fully deal with the problem.

It is thought that if using from the tap, then the fish in local rivers and streams will also be infected, so therefore it will also be necessary to reduce the amount of fish we eat.

The answer to dealing with these problems may be to purchase a purification system for your kitchen. These machines come with carbon and micro filtration and ion exchange to clean the fluid as much as possible before you consume it. You could also use bottled water, but the dangers of consuming chemicals from the plastic bottles are probably similar to the dangers of consuming from the tap.