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An investigation by the Associated Press has found a wide range of pharmaceuticals in the drinking water supplies in 24 major metropolitan areas. Tests conducted by AP detected drugs such as antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers, and sex hormones in the drinking water supplied to 41 million Americans.
The concentrations of the pharmaceuticals are far below the levels of a medical dose. Because the amounts are small—measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion—water utility officials believe the water is safe.
Some scientists are not so sure, however, mainly because the drugs can appear in combinations whose effects are unknown. In addition, the drugs are consumed over a long period of time and may build up in the system.
"There is genuine concern that these compounds, in the small concentrations that they're at, could be causing impacts to human health or to aquatic organisms,” says Mary Buzby, director of environmental technology for pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck & Co. Inc.
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