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Drugged to death

Drugged to death waterways across the us are contaminated by a number of antibiotics, caffeine, painkillers and other drugs, finds a recent study conducted by the us Geological Survey (usgs). The study targeted 95 organic wastewater contaminants and sampled 139 stream sites in 30 us states during 1999-2000. The 95 pollutants were picked on the basis of estimates about the quantities used, toxicity, potential hormone activity, suspected persistence in the environment and the availability of reference standards. "The study indicted that chemicals used in households, agriculture and industry can enter the environment through a variety of wastewater sources,' said usgs research hydrologist Dana Kolpin, who headed the study. "It begins a process of exploring the occurrence of these chemicals in our nation's streams,' said Robert Hirsch, usgs associate director for water ( www.nytimes.com , March 28, 2002).

Concentrations of most of the compounds were found to be less than one part per billion. Previous research has shown that exposure to levels even lower than these can cause harm to aquatic species. The most frequently detected compounds included:

• coprostanol, a steroid

• n-n-diethyltoluamide, an insect repellent

• caffeine, a stimulant

• cotinine, a nicotine breakdown product

• triclosan, an antimicrobial dis infectant

• tri (2-chloroethyl) phosphate, a fire retardant

• triclosan, the active ingredient in antimicrobial soaps and detergents

• 4-nonylphenol, a detergent breakdown product

"Overall, steroids, non-prescription drugs and a chemical found in insect repellents were the chemical groups most frequently detected,' Kolpin said. "Detergent metabolites and steroids were generally measured at higher concentrations than the other chemical groups, but concentrations measured in this study generally were very low

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