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Toxic drugs contaminate St. Lawrence, say researchers

Last Updated Wed, 05 Jul 2006 08:46:17 EDT

CBC News

Environment Canada researchers have found a dozen different types of

toxic drugs in water samples taken from the St. Lawrence River in

Quebec.

 

The drugs include non-prescription anti-inflammatory drugs such as

ibuprofen, prescription antibiotics and drugs prescribed to treat

epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. Researchers even found caffeine.

 

Although the amounts were minuscule, the study raises many questions

about the long-term effects of pharmacological pollution in the

country's waterways.

 

The drugs were found in concentrations less than 10 micrograms per

litre after sewage treatment - " trace amounts, " said researchers.

 

Our bodies get rid of excess medication through urine, but one of the

researchers, Andre Lajeunesse, said current sewage treatment methods

aren't built to deal with contaminants that enter the water table

through human urine.

 

Although the study dealt specifically with the St. Lawrence, drug

pollution in waterways is widespread, said Francois Gagne, who authored

along with two other researchers the study published earlier this year

in the journal Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety.

 

" When you're near a city, you're going to see it, " Gagne said.

 

Drugs, birth control hormones, Prozac and perfume have all turned up in

similar studies in the United Kingdom and the United States in recent

years.

 

With files by Canadian Press

 

 

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