Acetaminophen from painkillers, triclosan from antimicrobial soaps and caffeine from the morning java jolt, among other chemicals, are showing up daily on the banks of U.S. streams. The compounds, derived from substances that we excrete or use in our homes, farms and factories, were found by the first national stream survey designed to look for "contaminants of emerging concern"--tough-to-measure, relative newcomers to pollution monitoring. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! STARBUCKS NATION? Minute traces of common compounds such as caffeine are finding their way into U.S. waters. Link: http://www.sciam.com/2002/0502issue/0502scicit6.html
Not at all surprising considering all of the crap we send down the drain. I have wondered for years about the impact of pharmaceuticals being flushed down the toilet, in accordance with the instructions for disposal of unused medication. This is just another example; thanks for posting it. Peace.
What people do not realize is that while individual households dump very little chemicals in to the drain, if you consider the length of a river and all the cities, towns along the way - that is a lot of stuff going into the river... The other myth is that the water treatment facility will clean up the pollutants. That is not true either. There is no method employed to clean up oraganic chemicals in the waste. The waste water that is dumped to the river is supposed to be pH balanced - but that does not happen because pH control is non-linear and most engineers do not understand the whole process to keep it running properly over time (besides it is a low bidder activity).
Antimicrobial soaps have always been a concren of mine. Eventually we will create a superbacteria that withstands the effects. The same as has been done for TB while using penicillian. Those affected did not complete the treatments and it became resistant to penicillian. As time goes by more and more TB will be resistant to the antibotic. Steph bacteria is another nightmare for hospitals now. So much antibacterial has been used in going for the sterile enviroment that the bacteria is becoming immune to the effects. Results are a strain that is much harder to kill. Same thing happens in the home. The end result is a superbacteria that isn't phased by bacteria killers. That it is in runoff isn't suprising at all. The Federal Government mandated that all dairy farmers and those with livestock in fields dig drainage catching structures, such as a pond, to attemp to regulate the amount of effeluent(?) coming from the fields. They are required to pump them out at intervals and dispose of them in an effort to reduce stream pollution. In the dairy country, stream and rivers have become so polluted that signs were posted, by the state and the county, that it was not safe to swim in them any longer. Nothing has be done to address the minipolluting factories we call homes. All the chemicals we use, from soaps, bleach, cleaners, insecticides, polishes, ect. wind up in the drains. Sooner or later. Those that get burned, some wind up in the air. A little will not contaminate to a major degree. Multiply it by the population and you get something else. Results such as above are notices of changes coming....
There are two types of antibiotics. Chemicals such as alcohol and chlorine and certain enzymes are very efficient and bacterias can not get resistant to them, So, people should learn to use them more than the other kinds. Most inorganic chemicals have less effect in pollution (other than heavy metal) than the organic ones. There should be an unbiabed research into them and looked at the entire ecosystem. Since it is difficult to go back to 18th century, I suggest we learn to balance the ecosystem by genetically modifying the flora and fauna to clean up the pollution in a symbiotic way....
goofyfish, http://www.sciforums.com/t6931/s/thread.html Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Love, Nelson
