Medicines, Household Chemicals Flow Into Creeks

[Health Dr. 2]

Medicines, household chemicals flow into creeks
By BOB DOWNING
Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio)

AKRON, Ohio - Tinkers Creek is a pretty, tree-lined stream that meanders through southern Cuyahoga and northern Summit and Portage counties in Ohio. Its water quality is considered good, and it should be a good habitat for wildlife.

So where are all the fish?

Despite improved water quality, the fish population in this Cuyahoga River tributary has not improved in the last 20 years.

Now the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is looking at whether the culprit is a new water-pollution threat: tiny amounts of thousands of chemicals widely used in medications, beauty aids, cleaners and foods. These substances include caffeine, cotinine (from tobacco products), antibiotics, contraceptives, painkillers, antidepressants, hormones, steroids, chemotherapy drugs, insect repellents, veterinary medicines, soaps, perfumes, plasticizers and fire retardants.

``It's an emerging concern,'' said Steve Tuckerman, a water expert with the EPA. ``We don't know yet if it's a `Hey!' kind of problem or a `Holy s---!' kind of problem. There's a lot of work still to be done. But it's a problem that we're going to be dealing with for a long, long time.''

Trace amounts of chemicals - known as pharmaceutical and personal care pollutants (PPCPs) - enter wastewater from toilets, showers and sinks.

Americans spend an estimated $190 billion a year on prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Experts say that 50 percent to 90 percent of ingested drugs are excreted from the body in still-potent form.

The antidepressant Prozac, for example, frequently turns up in streams draining high-income suburban communities.

These PPCPs survive in wastewater even after it is treated and disinfected. Sewage plants don't screen for such materials and can remove some but not all of them. State and federal regulations generally don't address their disposal.

The chemicals - measured in parts per trillion or parts per billion - are bioactive, meaning they can enter the bioprocesses of living organisms, especially aquatic species.

``It's a real Pandora's box,'' said Michael McGlinchy, director of Akron's Public Utilities Bureau. ``It's a very serious issue, and one that we need to know more about. ... It's definitely going to get more attention and study in the coming years. It's a problem we're just learning about.''

Although the chemicals have been in waterways for decades, they are just starting to get serious study from scientists. They are considered ``emerging contaminants'' and the next big water-pollution problem.

Scientists have more questions about the presence of the substances in the water supply than answers. They are unable to say how great a threat such chemicals pose at low levels and what threat might be created by combinations of chemicals.

But there is special concern about substances that trigger hormonal changes in fish, and about the release of antibiotics into the environment. Some studies have linked environmental exposure to hormones to deformed sex organs in wildlife, sex reversal in some fish species and declining fertility in humans, as well as to cancers and other diseases.

The American Water Works Association, a national trade group based in Denver, says the fact that a substance is found in drinking water does not mean that substance is harmful to humans. The best advice for consumers, said association spokesman Greg Kail, is to avoid flushing leftover drugs down the toilet or dumping them down the drain.

Jeff Trewhitt, spokesman for the national Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, based in Washington, said pollution from personal care products is not seen as a major issue, although it is causing concern.

Leftover drugs, in their original containers, can safely go into landfills, Trewhitt said.

In 1999-2000, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted the first national look at PPCPs. The agency tested for 95 chemicals in 139 waterways in 30 states. The sites were chosen to include potential hot spots or problem areas. The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland was tested, along with seven other Ohio waterways.

The report, released in June 2002, offered no conclusions on risk.

Of the sites tested, 80 percent had at least trace amounts of one chemical. Half had five or more chemicals. Thirty-four streams had 10 or more contaminants. Eighty-two of the chemicals were found in at least one sample.

Most common were caffeine, steroids and nonprescription drugs. Those findings mirrored results from similar studies in Canada and Europe.

At least 31 antibiotic and antibacterial compounds were found in the samples. At least 11 compounds were linked to birth control and hormone supplements.

Of the 95 chemicals tested for, 81 are unregulated.

Bill Zawiski, an aquatic biologist for the Ohio EPA, said PPCP pollution appears to be most severe in streams such as Tinkers Creek that are dominated by sewage plants. As much as 80 percent of the flow of 33-mile Tinkers Creek goes through one of the eight sewage plants in that watershed, Zawiski said.

PPCP problems are not found in Yellow Creek and Furnace Run, other Cuyahoga River tributaries in Summit County that are not dominated by sewage plants, he said.

And the EPA is not seeing similar problems in Euclid Creek, an urbanized stream in eastern Cuyahoga County.

Tinkers Creek isn't meeting Ohio's standards for the number of fish in the water and the variety of species. It gets a grade of fair to poor.

Ideally, the stream would get a rating of at least 38 out of 60 possible points for its fish, Zawiski said. In 2000, the stream got a high of 32 points and a low of 21 points in EPA sampling at seven sites.

``Right now, we don't know what's causing the fish problems on Tinkers Creek,'' he said, ``but it's possible that it is (PPCP) chemicals. That's what we're starting to look at.''

There is no evidence of fish changing sex because of hormonal drugs in Tinkers Creek, he said, but some tests probably will be conducted this summer. Such tests are expensive - $1,000 to $1,500 each - and the EPA hopes the sewage plants will help pay for them.

Zawiski said the state hopes to complete its investigation of Tinkers Creek in 2006.

``The biggest problem,'' he said, ``is that most people don't realize what goes into the waterways and what kind of impact that's having.''