Sludge Watch ==> US - Free Municipal Drinking Water Testing for Pharmaceuticals

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

Every muncipality should have the drinking water tested by an accredited 
laboratory and the results published.

...............................................................................

http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1220166/

Waters Offers U.S. Water Authorities Complimentary Drinking Water Testing 
for the Presence of Pharmaceuticals
Wednesday, March 19, 2008; Posted: 10:45 AM




MILFORD, Mass., March 19, 2008 /PRNewswire

-- Responding to recent reports regarding findings of trace levels of 
pharmaceuticals found in U.S. drinking water supplies, Waters Corporation 
(NYSE: WAT | news | PowerRating | PR Charts ) announced today that it will 
offer qualified U.S. water authorities complimentary drinking water analysis 
for common over-the-counter and prescription antidepressant pharmaceutical 
compounds to help assess regional exposure and move towards forward-looking 
solutions.

"As a provider of analytical technologies capable of detecting trace levels 
of contaminants in water, food and the environment, Waters(R) is keenly 
aware of the broad impact that contaminants can have on our natural 
resources," said Rohit Khanna, Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for the 
Waters Division. "As scientists, we at Waters believe in the need - and have 
the solutions - to assess baseline data to measure contamination levels, if 
any. Through this program we hope to work in cooperation with U.S. water 
authorities to better assess the public's exposure to pharmaceutical 
residues and assist them with potential action plans."

For 50 years, Waters has been producing advanced environmental solutions and 
working with regulatory and government agencies at all levels. For example, 
the Associated Press reported that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) recently published a method to test for pharmaceutical and personal 
care products in water, soil, sediment, and biosolids; a method which 
references Waters solutions throughout. More recently, Waters is applying 
advance technology to deliver an automated solution with improved throughput 
for drinking water analysis.

Program Logistics

For a limited time, Waters will offer authorized officials from any U.S. 
water authority that serves more than 100,000 customers to submit a request 
for a complimentary test for common over-the-counter and anti-depressant 
pharmaceutical compounds of their finished water (tap water) by visiting 
http://www.waters.com/h2o. Requests will only be honored from authorized 
water officials and the results will be held in strict confidence. Waters 
will not accept requests from third parties.

The intention of these tests is to provide a baseline understanding of 
exposure to facilitate long-term solutions. These complimentary tests will 
not be validated or certified, and are only intended as an initial screen 
for the detection of pharmaceutical residues.

Waters Solutions

Waters will test submitted samples using the AquaAnalysis System, a total 
system solution designed to detect a range of contaminants in drinking 
water. The AquaAnalysis System can detect target analytes at or below 10 
parts-per- trillion (PPT), easily meeting or exceeding regulatory standards 
worldwide. The AquaAnalysis System has been shown to improve sample 
throughput by up to 80 percent by cutting analysis times from between three 
to five hours to just 30 minutes.

In December 2007, EPA published Method 1694 Pharmaceuticals and Personal 
Care Products in Water, Soil, Sediment, and Biosolids by HPLC/MS/MS. Using 
Waters chemistry products, Method 1694 identifies pharmaceuticals and 
personal care products in environmental samples by high performance liquid 
chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS) using 
isotope dilution and internal standard quantification techniques. This 
method has been developed for use with aqueous, solid, and biosolids 
matrices: (http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/methods/method/files/1694.pdf).

About Waters Corporation

Waters Corporation creates business advantages for laboratory-dependent 
organizations by delivering practical and sustainable innovation to enable 
significant advancements in such areas as healthcare delivery, environmental 
management, food safety, and water quality worldwide.

Pioneering a connected portfolio of separations science, laboratory 
information management, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis, Waters 
technology breakthroughs and laboratory solutions provide an enduring 
platform for customer success.

With revenue of $1.47 billion in 2007 and 5,000 employees, Waters is driving 
scientific discovery and operational excellence for customers worldwide.

Waters is a trademark of Waters Corporation.

Contact: Brian J. Murphy Waters Corporation Public Relations Manager 
508-482-2614 Brian_J_Murphy at waters.com


SOURCE Waters Corporation


http://www.waters.com