This unique study was conducted by a scientific team from York University headed by John Wilkinson, who collected samples from more than a thousand water sites, including 258 rivers in 104 countries located on all continents. At two of the sites, in Iceland and Venezuela, researchers did not find any contamination because the local population did not use modern medicines.
But on all the other sites they found at least one drug from the long list of drugs. The highest concentration was in the La Paz River in Bolivia (300 mg/L) and in the rivers of Pakistan and Ethiopia, where drug concentrations in one third of the samples were above the permissible limit.
The results of the samples analysis showed the presence of sulfamethoxazole antibiotics and ciprofloxacin. And epilepsy drugs such as carbamazepine, and metformin, which is used by diabetics. The scientists also found high levels of nicotine, caffeine and paracetamol in most of these samples.It is noteworthy that since 2009 the Institute of Water Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences has been paying special attention to this problem.
"We have discovered about 40 components of the drugs currently in use, ranging in concentration from tenths of nanograms per liter to hundreds of micrograms per liter. These components belong to antibiotics, antidepressants, anti-epileptic drugs and anti-inflammatories," says Maria Kozlova, chief researcher at the institute.
And she adds, the bulk of the medicines are spread in nature from animal breeding farms and the pharmaceutical industry. The interesting thing is that the largest part, about 80 percent of these components, was found in sewage water in residential areas. The reason for this is that the body does not absorb all the components of the medicines 100 percent. Therefore, the remaining part of it is excreted outside the body with the rest of the waste. Wastewater treatment plants are not qualified to treat this type of pollution.
She says, "To clean the water from medicines, very effective methods are required - ozone absorption, the use of ultraviolet rays. These methods are actually used in large cities, while they are not used in small cities currently."
The results of a Canadian study indicate that even a low concentration affects marine and river animals, for example, the female hormone estradiol, even at a concentration of 5 nanograms per liter, causes the feminization of fish, suppresses the production of the male hormone, which makes them unable to fertilize eggs, and a significant decrease in the number of fish.
The researchers observed seasonal changes in the concentration of antibiotics and antiviral drugs. In the period of the pandemic and the outbreak of infection, the concentration of these drugs increases in water. Therefore, experts suggest that you should look for an effective way to recycle it.
To address this problem, Kozlova says, special containers can be placed in pharmacies and markets for people as well as pharmacists to throw out expired and unnecessary medicines in them.
In general, this is a new problem in the world. The maximum permissible level of contamination with certain drugs has not yet been determined anywhere in the world. So, it's time for lawmakers to deal with this problem.
But on all the other sites they found at least one drug from the long list of drugs. The highest concentration was in the La Paz River in Bolivia (300 mg/L) and in the rivers of Pakistan and Ethiopia, where drug concentrations in one third of the samples were above the permissible limit.
The results of the samples analysis showed the presence of sulfamethoxazole antibiotics and ciprofloxacin. And epilepsy drugs such as carbamazepine, and metformin, which is used by diabetics. The scientists also found high levels of nicotine, caffeine and paracetamol in most of these samples.It is noteworthy that since 2009 the Institute of Water Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences has been paying special attention to this problem.
And she adds, the bulk of the medicines are spread in nature from animal breeding farms and the pharmaceutical industry. The interesting thing is that the largest part, about 80 percent of these components, was found in sewage water in residential areas. The reason for this is that the body does not absorb all the components of the medicines 100 percent. Therefore, the remaining part of it is excreted outside the body with the rest of the waste. Wastewater treatment plants are not qualified to treat this type of pollution.
She says, "To clean the water from medicines, very effective methods are required - ozone absorption, the use of ultraviolet rays. These methods are actually used in large cities, while they are not used in small cities currently."
The results of a Canadian study indicate that even a low concentration affects marine and river animals, for example, the female hormone estradiol, even at a concentration of 5 nanograms per liter, causes the feminization of fish, suppresses the production of the male hormone, which makes them unable to fertilize eggs, and a significant decrease in the number of fish.
The researchers observed seasonal changes in the concentration of antibiotics and antiviral drugs. In the period of the pandemic and the outbreak of infection, the concentration of these drugs increases in water. Therefore, experts suggest that you should look for an effective way to recycle it.
To address this problem, Kozlova says, special containers can be placed in pharmacies and markets for people as well as pharmacists to throw out expired and unnecessary medicines in them.
In general, this is a new problem in the world. The maximum permissible level of contamination with certain drugs has not yet been determined anywhere in the world. So, it's time for lawmakers to deal with this problem.
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