A recent USGS survey shows that our waterways are full of hormones, antibiotics and many other drugs excreted by both humans and animals. As these substances (the hormones in this case) are present in high enough quantities to change the sex of baby fish (according to this article and a hydrologist on Marketplace yesterday), this merits further study as no mitigation is attempted between these sources and community water supplies. It's not bacteria, so Chlorine won't kill it. Charcoal filters do work, but almost no water supplies use them.
Ready for the best part? According to the NYTimes (requires free registration), Additional federal studies are under way to see if any contamination reaches taps or ground water used for drinking, but the program under which they are conducted, the toxic substances hydrology program of the geological survey, is slated to be eliminated under budget cuts proposed by the Bush administration, government officials said.
I guess we'll never know or fix this because it's been deemed not important by the current administration, like virtually all environmental impact studies that may affect agribusiness, oil or anything else corporate.
The true costs of "better living through chemistry" are simply not factored in to anything. Even libertarians like myself think that corporations should pay for damage to public land or assets because it reduces the usability for others.
Posted by nicole at March 14, 2002 11:29 AM