You may be drinking DEET, antibiotics and other drugs: an Indiana study

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Referring to autism as a " mystery " is among the most cruel of myths.

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You may be drinking DEET, antibiotics and other drugs.

<http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20091024/NEWS01/910240315>

In an examination of 20 samples taken from the West Fork of the White

River Watershed -- which includes Winchester, Muncie, and

Indianapolis -- Ball State University researchers found a whole lot more

to the chemical makeup of H20 than nature intended.

Muncie Star Press, Indiana

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You may be drinking DEET, antibiotics and other drugs

Ball State study finds traces of pharmaceuticals in White River, the

source of local drinking water.

By SETH SLABAUGH . seths@... . October 24, 2009

http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20091024/NEWS01/910240315

MUNCIE -- Here's what you might be ingesting the next time you have a

cool drink of water: acetaminophen; antibiotics used to treat urinary

tract infections; antibacterial agents found in soap; trace amounts of

caffeine and cotinine, a body-producing byproduct of nicotine;

anticoagulants; and carbamazepine, a drug used to treat epilepsy and

bipolar disorder.

Oh, and DEET insect repellent.

Yum.

In an examination of 20 samples taken from the West Fork of the White

River Watershed -- which includes Winchester, Muncie, and

Indianapolis -- Ball State University researchers found a whole lot more

to the chemical makeup of H20 than nature intended.

" If toxins are getting into the environment, they could be hurting fish,

they could be hurting snails, they could be hurting algae, " said Melody

Bernot, a biology professor. " Additionally, if we degrade our water

resources, we don't have them for human use. "

Cities all along the watershed use the White River for drinking water.

" We know that water treatment plants don't treat for these compounds, "

Bernot said. " All these drugs are designed to have a physiological

effect. I imagine some people are supposed to stay away from caffeine.

Maybe it's dangerous even at trace concentrations. I don't know if it

is. I don't know if anybody knows if it is. "

The study shows that the White River Watershed has as much or more

pharmaceutical contamination than was found in national studies, of

which there have been only a handful.

" There have been only three or four previous studies, " Bernot said. " We

have for the total U.S. maybe 200 samples. The bottom line is, we know

virtually nothing. We didn't really start to think about this until five

years ago. "

Each sample costs $600 to analyze. Pharmaceuticals were found in the

White River Watershed in the parts per billion range.

The drugs are entering rivers and streams through human excretion into

sewer systems and septic tanks.

" When you take any drug, we metabolize only a portion of it, " she said.

Bernot, who worked with graduate students on the $45,000 study, is

seeking funding for more research.

The federal government has not established maximum contaminant levels

for pharmaceuticals in treated drinking water, Alan DeBoy, vice

president of operations for Indiana-American Water Co., said during a

community forum in Muncie this week.

" But those will be coming, " he said.

The U.S. Geological Survey is first monitoring waterways to determine

the concentrations of pharmaceuticals and other emerging contaminants.

Standards will be set after other studies determine what levels of

pharmaceuticals are safe in drinking water, DeBoy said.

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