Sludge Watch ==> Applause for Senator's investigation of pharmaceuticals in water and food

[Maureen Reilly]

NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                        
                         April 10, 2008

CONTACT: Laura Orlando, (v) 617-524-7258

Email: lorlando at bu.edu




Sixty-eight public interest groups applaud Senator Boxer’s investigation 
and hearings on toxics in drinking water and sewage sludge poisoning our 
food


Pharmaceuticals and toxics in drinking water inextricably associated with
sewers and sewage treatment





WASHINGTON— On April 15th the Senate Environment and Public Works 
Committee, chaired by Senator Barbara Boxer, will be holding hearings on 
recent studies documenting pharmaceuticals found in drinking water around 
the United States.



A few weeks later, in May, Senator Boxer’s Committee will be holding 
hearings on the land application of sewage sludge and the massive use of 
sewage sludge as a fertilizer to grow food distributed throughout the U.S. 
(USDA prohibits growing organic food on sewage sludge.)



Sixty-eight environmental, farm, and food safety organizations applaud the 
leadership of Senator Boxer holding long overdue hearings on these issues so 
vital to protecting the health of all Americans.



Discharges from wastewater treatment plants -- no matter what level of 
treatment -- are polluting our drinking water and, through the land 
application of sewage sludge, poisoning our food.



In October 2003, 73 organizations working to protect the nation’s food 
supply petitioned the EPA to stop the unsafe practice of land application of 
sewage sludge. 
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/pubs/FinalPetitionSludge.pdf.

On Christmas Eve, December 24, 2003, EPA denied the Petition.



In February of this year, a federal judge ruled among other things that the 
basis for EPA’s denial of the Petition was based on misleading and false 
testing data and science. See "Sewage-Based Fertilizer Safety Doubted," 
Associated Press (AP), March 6, 2008, 
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/07/7533/



Pharmaceuticals in water are inextricably linked to sewage treatment 
effluent and sewage sludge. “Probe Finds Drugs in Drinking Water,” AP, 
March 9, 2008, http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=4416882



Attached is more information about the effects of pharmaceuticals being 
discharged by wastewater treatment plants into the environment.



—30—





Pharmaceuticals are finding their way into the nation’s water and food 
supply through sewage treatment effluent and sewage sludge from the over 
16,000 publicly owned treatment works in the United States. Approximately 7 
million dry tons of sewage sludge are put on U.S. soil each year.



The United States Geological Survey (USGS) found that sewage sludge contains 
high concentrations (hundreds of milligrams per kilogram) of pharmaceuticals 
and personal care products. http://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/biosolids.html



The USGS scientists found:



Fifty-five of the 87 organic chemicals measured were detected in at least 
one of the nine sewage sludge (“biosolids”) samples collected, with as 
many as 45 chemicals found in a single sample. Some of the pharmaceuticals 
found include: carbamazapine, an antiepileptic drug; 3-beta-coprostanol, a 
steroid; and fluoxetine (Prozac), an antidepressant drug. 
http://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/compounds_biosolids_study.html



Twenty-five of the chemicals were present in every sludge sample including 
compounds that are pharmaceutically and hormonally active, such as an 
antimicrobial disinfectant (triclosan), a musk fragrance (tonalide), an 
antihistamine (diphenhydramine), and an antiepileptic drug (carbamazepine).



USGS has also found pharmaceuticals downstream of wastewater treatment plant 
discharges. Of the 103 emerging contaminants investigated, 78 were found in 
at least one sample. 
http://toxics.usgs.gov/regional/emc/wastewater_treatment.html



The San Francisco Bay, for example, receives over 830 million gallons per 
day of sewage plant effluent, all of it containing pharmaceuticals and other 
toxins.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/11/BAGI1IPJMO1.DTL



Because pharmaceuticals are designed to have a biological effect and can be 
hormonally active, even when present at low concentrations in water, they 
are harmful to living organisms. Scientists have found sexual abnormalities 
in frogs, fish, and other animals exposed to sewage effluent from wastewater 
treatment plants.



Ocean currents are carrying sewage outfall toxins to surf zones and 
shorelines. The ocean floor near sewage outfalls is contaminated with 
estrogenic compounds, including those from pharmaceuticals, that are 
feminizing fish and affecting organisms at all stages of life.



For example, eleven male bottom-dwelling fish out of 64 caught in the ocean 
off Southern California had ovary tissue in their testes. Two-thirds of male 
turbot and sole caught near Orange County's sewage outfall had egg-producing 
proteins.



Mary Buzby, director of environmental technology for drug maker Merck & Co. 
Inc., said: "There's no doubt about it, pharmaceuticals are being detected 
in the environment and there is genuine concern that these compounds, in the 
small concentrations that they're at, could be causing impacts to human 
health or to aquatic organisms." 
http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/WireHeadlines/2008/03/10/pharmaceuticals-found-in-tap-water-19.php





Email: lorlando at bu.edu