{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-572d6a42.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-f4d0de30.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='AP investigation discovers water supplies contaminated with drugs' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c08dd8eafeecae14b9c4' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c08dd8eafeecae14b9c4' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nAP investigation discovers water supplies contaminated with drugs\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003eAP TelevisionLake Mead, Nevada - November 20071. Mid view of a boat's motor on Lake Mead 2. Mid view of hydrologist piloting boat 3. Wide view of Hoover Dam 4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Chuck Fisher, Hydrologist:\"It's a pretty important...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003eAP Television\u003cbr/\u003eLake Mead, Nevada - November 2007\u003cbr/\u003e1. Mid view of a boat's motor on Lake Mead \u003cbr/\u003e2. Mid view of hydrologist piloting boat \u003cbr/\u003e3. Wide view of Hoover Dam \u003cbr/\u003e4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Chuck Fisher, Hydrologist:\u003cbr/\u003e\"It's a pretty important reservoir for the South West United States. Provides drinking water for Arizona, California and Nevada.\"\u003cbr/\u003e5. Wide view of a riding shot of Lake Mead \u003cbr/\u003eAP Television \u003cbr/\u003eFILE: Date and Place Unknown\u003cbr/\u003e6. Various of pharmacist dispensing medication\u003cbr/\u003eAP Television\u003cbr/\u003eLake Mead, Nevada - November 2007\u003cbr/\u003e7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Erik Orsak, US Fish and Wildlife Service: \u003cbr/\u003e\"So if you have a headache and take Tylenol, Advil, if it's birth control pills, just about anything you might consume, only a portion of that active ingredient actually is consumed by your body and metabolised. And the rest is excreted as waste.\"\u003cbr/\u003eAP Television\u003cbr/\u003eNew York, NY - January 2008\u003cbr/\u003e8. Faucet running in New York City apartment \u003cbr/\u003e9. Various views of Allen Reiner testing the tap water in his home \u003cbr/\u003e10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Allen Reiner, New York City Resident:\u003cbr/\u003e\"There are products leaching into the system that the city or the state or the government are not attending to and it could reach a faucet like mine without us knowing about it.\"\u003cbr/\u003eAP Television\u003cbr/\u003eOrange County, CA - January 2008\u003cbr/\u003e11. Various of water treatment plant\u003cbr/\u003e12. Wide view of refrigerator\u003cbr/\u003e13. Close view refrigerator water filter buttons \u003cbr/\u003e14. Close view of  water glass being filled\u003cbr/\u003eAP Television\u003cbr/\u003eLake Mead, Nevada - November 2007\u003cbr/\u003e15. View of scientists collecting fish in Lake Mead\u003cbr/\u003e16. View of scientists carrying coolers of fish \u003cbr/\u003e17. SOUNDBITE: (English) Steve Goodbred, US Geological Survey:\u003cbr/\u003e\"We found that fish exposed to contaminants in the waste water have reduced testicular growth, reduced sperm quality and altered hormone ratios.\"\u003cbr/\u003e18. Wide view of scientists working under a tent \u003cbr/\u003e19. Views of scientist drawing blood from fish \u003cbr/\u003e20. Views of scientist gutting fish \u003cbr/\u003e21. Wide view of water treatment plant falling water \u003cbr/\u003e22. Close view of sign that says \"caution, impure water, do not drink\"\u003cbr/\u003e23. Close view of pools of water\u003cbr/\u003e24. SOUNDBITE: ( English) Edward Torres, Orange County Sanitation District:\u003cbr/\u003e\"We really think there should be some program that brings it back to the distributors or manufacturers.\"\u003cbr/\u003eAP Television\u003cbr/\u003eFILE: Date and Place Unknown\u003cbr/\u003e25. Close view of pharmacy sign\u003cbr/\u003e26. Wide view of inside a pharmacy\u003cbr/\u003e27. View of a worker's hand arranging shelves\u003cbr/\u003eAP Television\u003cbr/\u003eLake Mead, Nevada - November 2007\u003cbr/\u003e28. Hydrologist pilots boat\u003cbr/\u003e29. Moving shot of ducks on Lake Mead\u003cbr/\u003eAn Associated Press investigation indicates pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilisers and sex hormones, have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million US residents.\u003cbr/\u003eYet authorities routinely fail to tell the public.\u003cbr/\u003eThe concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are small, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion.\u003cbr/\u003eThey fall far below the levels of a medical dose, but still, some scientists are concerned that the presence of so many prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines in so much of the US drinking water may have long-term consequences to human health.\u003cbr/\u003eHormones can hamper reproduction or development; medicines for depression and epilepsy can damage the brain or change behaviour; antibiotics can allow human germs to mutate into more dangerous forms.\u003cbr/\u003eBut pharmaceutical companies insist there is little to no risk from their products and utility companies say their water is safe.\u003cbr/\u003eIn Nevada, Hydrologist Chuck Fisher patrols Lake Mead, one of the largest reservoirs in the world.\u003cbr/\u003e\"It's a pretty important reservoir for the South West United States. Provides drinking water for Arizona, California and Nevada,\" said Fisher.\u003cbr/\u003eLake Mead is one of the drinking water suppliers where scientists say they have discovered trace amounts of steroids, narcotics and birth control drugs.\u003cbr/\u003e\"So if you have a headache and take Tylenol, Advil, if it's birth control pills, just about anything you might consume, only a portion of that active ingredient actually is consumed by your body and metabolised. And the rest is excreted as waste,\" said Erik Orsak of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.\u003cbr/\u003eThe wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. \u003cbr/\u003eSome of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers.\u003cbr/\u003eBut most treatments do not remove all drug residue.   \u003cbr/\u003eAnd while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies, which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public, have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife.\u003cbr/\u003eRecent laboratory research has found that small amounts of medication have affected human embryonic kidney cells, human blood cells and human breast cancer cells. The cancer cells proliferated too quickly; the kidney cells grew too slowly; and the blood cells showed biological activity associated with inflammation.\u003cbr/\u003eIn the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water of 24 major metropolitan areas, from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit, Michigan to Louisville, Kentucky.\u003cbr/\u003eMembers of the AP National Investigative Team reviewed hundreds of scientific reports, analysed federal drinking water databases, visited environmental study sites and treatment plants and interviewed more than 230 officials, academics and scientists. \u003cbr/\u003eThey also surveyed the nation's 50 largest cities and a dozen other major water providers, as well as smaller community water providers in all 50 states.\u003cbr/\u003eWater providers rarely disclose results of pharmaceutical  screenings, unless pressed; one supplier said the public might be unduly alarmed if informed.\u003cbr/\u003eIn New York, recent surveys revealed traces of more than 15 drugs in the tap water. Some residents have taken it up themselves to test their drinking water.\u003cbr/\u003e\"There are products in the system that the city or the state or the government are not attending to and it could reach a faucet like mine without us knowing about it,\" said Allen Reiner, a New York City Resident.\u003cbr/\u003eScientists say the full impact of to humans is unclear, but they do say the pharmaceuticals have affected fish.\u003cbr/\u003e\"We found that fish exposed to contaminants in waste water have reduced testicular growth, reduced sperm quality and altered hormone ratios,\" said Steve Goodbred, of the US Geological Survey.\u003cbr/\u003eIn Orange County, California, waste water officials say without evidence of human health problems, stemming from pharmaceuticals in drinking water, it is difficult to justify expenditures to change the system.\u003cbr/\u003e\"We really think there should be some program that brings it back to the distributors or manufacturers,\" said Edward Torres of the Orange County Sanitation District.\u003cbr/\u003eContamination is not confined to the United States. More than 100  different pharmaceuticals have been detected in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and streams throughout the world. \u003cbr/\u003eStudies have detected pharmaceuticals in waters throughout Asia, Australia, Canada and Europe, even in Swiss lakes and the North Sea.\u003cbr/\u003eFor example, in Canada, a study of 20 Ontario drinking water treatment plants by a national research institute found nine different drugs in water samples. \u003cbr/\u003eJapanese health officials in December called for human health impact studies after detecting prescription drugs in drinking water at seven different sites.\u003cbr/\u003eIn the United States, the problem isn't confined to surface waters. \u003cbr/\u003ePharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground, source of 40 percent of the nation's water supply. \u003cbr/\u003eFederal scientists who drew water in 24 states from aquifers near contaminant sources such as landfills and animal feed lots found minuscule levels of hormones, antibiotics and other drugs.\u003cbr/\u003ePerhaps it's because Americans have been taking drugs and flushing them unmetabolised or unused in growing amounts. \u003cbr/\u003eOver the past five years, the number of U.S. prescriptions rose 12 percent to a record 3.7 billion, while non-prescription purchases held steady around 3.3 billion, according to IMS Health and The Nielsen Co.\u003cbr/\u003eAsk the pharmaceutical industry whether the contamination of water supplies is a problem, and officials will tell you no. \u003cbr/\u003e\"Based on what we now know, I would say we find there's little or no risk from pharmaceuticals in the environment to human health,'' said a consultant for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.\u003cbr/\u003eBut researchers say our bodies may shrug off a relatively big one-time dose, yet ultimately suffer from a smaller amount delivered continuously over a half century, perhaps subtly stirring allergies or nerve damage. 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