Hollister and Sunnyslope water is not tested for
pharmaceuticals
Trace amounts of pharmaceutical drugs were found in drinking
water in major metropolitan areas around the Unites States,
including San Francisco and Southern California, according to an
Associated Press investigation.
Hollister and Sunnyslope water is not tested for pharmaceuticals
Trace amounts of pharmaceutical drugs were found in drinking water in major metropolitan areas around the Unites States, including San Francisco and Southern California, according to an Associated Press investigation.
But there is no way of detecting the levels of medication found in local drinking water because water supplied by Hollister officials and the Sunnyslope Water District do not test for pharmaceuticals.
City officials monitor drinking water in compliance with state and federal law, said Jim Hart, Hollister’s utility technician.
“Currently, there is no requirement to test for the specific pharmaceuticals that might be of concern,” Hart said.
There is no reason to suspect that pharmaceutical drugs would be found in water supplied by Hollister officials, Hart said.
Sunnyslope staff also does not test for pharmaceuticals because it is not required by state or federal officials, said Bryan Yamaoka, general manager of the Sunnyslope Water District.
“This is such new technology,” Yamaoka said. “They’re just starting it up.”
Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff sets water quality standards, Yamoka said.
“In the case of California,” Yamaoka said, “the standards are usually more stringent than what the EPA produces.”
Pharmaceutical drugs were detected at levels of parts per billion or parts per trillion, according to the AP report.
A sex hormone was detected in drinking water in San Francisco, according to the report.
In Southern California, anti-epileptic and anti-anxiety medications were found in a portion of the drinking water.
Christian Daughton is a scientist at the EPA’s office of research and development in Las Vegas.
“These analyses are not routine,” Daughton said. “They’re really research type analyses that are expensive to do and it’s really difficult to get accurate data.”
The concentration of toxic chemicals in personal care products are much higher than the chemicals that are being found in water, Daughton said.
At parts per trillion, scientists have little information on which chemicals would be bad, Daughton said.
“What might the effects be on humans at very low levels, no one really knows,” Daughton said. “The study of multiple chemical stressors at low chemical levels is very, very difficult.”
Daughton is unaware of any studies on humans of multiple chemicals at very low levels.
The effect of trace amounts of pharmaceuticals has been identified in aquatic environments, Daughton said.
Studies of aquatic environments are different from studies on humans, Daughton said.
“In humans, basically any type of effect is undesirable,” Daughton said. “In aquatic environments many drugs have been found at much higher concentrations.”
Pharmaceutical drugs should not be in our waterways, said Andria Ventura, program manager for Clean Water Action, an advocacy group.
“It’s not like the problem is going to become less of one if we don’t take action,” Ventura said. “Our population is growing. People are taking more and more medication.”
Pharmaceuticals get into the water supply in a variety of ways, Ventura said.
“They come out of our bodies and they come out of animal’s bodies,” Ventura said. “We excrete them.”
If people pour medication down the drain, or dispose of them improperly, they can also end up in drinking water, Ventura said.
Water treatment systems cannot remove all traces of pharmaceutical drugs from drinking water, Ventura said.
Developing better water treatment systems is not the only answer, Ventura said.
“I think we need to look at strategies to keep these chemicals out of the water,” Ventura said. “Down the line we’re going to have to look at something that’s much more difficult. We’re going to have to look at developing [medications] that are more efficient.”
Currently, there is not an ideal way to dispose of medication, Ventura said.
In San Benito County, residents can drop off medication on the third Saturday of every month at the landfill on 2650 John Smith Rd. from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., according to the San Benito County Integrated Waste Management department Web site. Proof of residency is required.
