Water. One of the most basic components of human life, of the body, of the earth! This is a no-brainer. Drink 8-10 glasses a day, and you're good... that's what we think. But an important question we should give some thought to is: Has water changed?
Maybe you've caught some of the media attention.
Water is not what it used to be. Treatment Plants give reports on what they find in the water, but most people don't realize that they only test for certain things (ie.
Epcor). The reality is that water treatment plants can only do so much to restore polluted water. According to an EPA scientist "People think that if they take a medication, their body absorbs it and it disappears, but of course that's not the case... there are no sewage treatment systems specifically engineered to remove pharmaceuticals (
CTV, 2008)."
Antibiotics, Anti-convulsants, Mood Stabilizers, Anti-Anxiety Meds, Sex Hormones (ie. the Pill), Tranquilizers, Heart Meds, and Pain Meds (
Burton, 2006) are just a few of the pharmaceuticals being found in tap water all over the world! More than 100 pharmaceuticals have been detected in water sources world wide (
CTV, 2008).
Our local water is showing the same problem: pharmaceuticals are in our drinking water.
During the past 15 years, the presence of pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC's) in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents, receiving waters, and groundwater has become an issue of increasing international attention and concern (North Saskatchewan River Water Quality, 2010).
Over the past few years scientists across North America have been finding trace levels of pharmaceutical medicines, antibiotics, and personal care products in almost all surface water supplies. The highest levels seem to be from sewage treatment plant effluents. There are currently no regulated limits for these products (Epcore).
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products need to be assessed separately. There is need to assess the uncertainty regarding the development of antibiotic microbial resistance and to consolidate research activities (Environment Canada).
We assume the amounst must be low, but are they? Even
Merck & Co, a pharmaceutical giant, acknowledges "There is no doubt about it, pharmaceuticals are being detected in the environement and there is genuine concern" about these compounds "in the small concentrations they're at (
CTV, 2008)." Think of how many women are taking just the pill - it adds up! When you consider that pharmaceuticals operate in parts per billion/trillion it wouldn't take much to have an effect. We're starting to see the long term low dose effects, not to mention how they effect the little bodies of children - but no one knows how these different drugs may interact at these doses.
The
hormone disruptors being found in our water are of great concern. The effects have been seen in fish across the globe, including gender changes and infertility issues (
USGS, 2009; Summit Voice, 2010; CBS, 2010). A reports on Alberta findings states "Compounds detected in the water included synthetic estrogens (birthcontrol pill compounds and hormone therapy drugs); bisphenol A, a chemical used in making plastics; and certain types of natural and synthetic steroids that are byproducts of agricultural run-off and cattle farming (
Summit Voice, 2010)." Each of these work to disrupt the hormones of the human body.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, this problem is found in "virtually every watershed in the country." In one area
every small mouth bass has this condition and in some areas "entire populations of fish simply collapsed, unable to spawn (
CBS News, 2010)."
What does this mean for Human Beings?
Endocrine Disruptors are just one of the issues that are effecting our water supply, but as they are associated with lowered fertility, feminization, endometriosis, and cancers (just to name a few things), they are a huge concern. The concern is even bigger for "prenatal and early postnatal development when organ and neural systems are forming (
NIEHS)."
Here are some of the effects these
hormone disruptors are having on human beings:
1. They can cause problems with human fertility in both males and females. Endocrine disruptors are associated with "malformations of the male genital tract," decreased sperm quality, and other "alterations in male and female reproduction (
Soto and Sonnenschein, 2010)." Chlorine exposure in boys during childhood has been shown to affect hormone levels at adolescence (
Nickmilder and Bernard, 2010). Even showering and bathing with chlorinated water has a harmful effect, contributing to daily exposure of chloroform (
Riederer, Bartell, and Ryan, 2009)!
2. They can effect gender identity and sexual orientation. Exposure to the wrong amount of a hormone during the critical time for Sexual Differentiation of the Brain can change the baby's Gender Identity (
Swaab, 2007;
Dingfelder, 2004;
Reiner and Gearhart, 2004).
(
read more)
3. They can cause cancer. They are associated with prostate cancer (
Stot and Sonnenschein, 2010). Prenatal exposures to excess estrogens, whether natural or synthetic, has been associated with breast, vaginal, and uterine cancers later on (
Birnbaum and Fenton, 2003). The findings are much to vast to include everything, but to be sure the connection is strong.
How to get clean water:
Bottled Water exposes people to toxicants (including endocrine disruptors) because the plasticizers leech into the plastic. For instance, plasticizers such as
BPA and Phlalates are both hormone disruptors. The best solution appears to be either
Reverse Osmosis Water (that is not kept in plastic bottles) or
Distilled Water. Reverse osmosis "removes virtually all pharmaceutical contaminants but is very expensive for large-scale use and leaves several gallons of polluted water for every one that is made drinkable (
CTV, 2008). Distilled Water is a solid choice (with the use of mineral drops to replace the minerals that are filtered out as well), and the distiller should be stainless steel (to avoid the hormone disrupting chemicals found in plastics).
We haven't put in our distiller yet, but are saving up for it because we know it will improve our health. It may take a little effort (and some money), but 8-10 glasses of uncontaminated water can still be within reach!
Happy Health!
