Illinois EPA releases preliminary results of tests for presence of
pharmaceuticals in public drinking supplies
Results
show only trace levels of several prescription drugs and common
chemicals
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[May 28, 2008]
SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois EPA
released preliminary results Friday from water samples taken across
the state to determine levels, if any, of unregulated
pharmaceuticals and personal care products in Illinois drinking
water supplies.
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Preliminary findings indicate that Illinois' drinking water
continues to be safe, and the Illinois EPA sees no cause for
immediate concern. While there are no federal standards established
for pharmaceuticals, the Illinois EPA tested drinking water across
the state as a proactive measure to assess the scope of the presence
of pharmaceuticals in our waterways to ensure that our drinking
water supplies are adequately protected.
"While the preliminary findings didn't show anything that would
lead us to believe there is a human health concern, we believe that
the consumers deserve as much information about their drinking water
as we can provide to them," said Illinois EPA Director Doug Scott.
"That's why we'll continue to monitor the safety of drinking water
supplies and educate the public about how to keep pharmaceuticals
and personal care products out of our water supplies."
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In March of this year, the Illinois EPA collected samples from
both untreated "source" water and from the treated drinking water
from public water supplies in Chicago, Aurora, Elgin, East St. Louis
and Rock Island. In addition, the city of Springfield collected its
own samples and provided the data to Illinois EPA; these
data
are available from www.epa.state.il.us.
[To download Adobe Acrobat Reader for
the PDF file, click
here.]
The samples were analyzed for several types of pharmaceuticals
and chemicals commonly found in prescription medications and
commonly used in personal products, including pain relievers,
antibiotics, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, an insect repellent
and chemicals derived from coffee and tobacco. While water samples
were tested for 57 chemicals, results show 17 chemicals detected at
low levels.
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In order to assess the safety of the very low levels of the
chemicals found in the treated drinking water, Illinois EPA
toxicologists, in consultation with the Illinois Department of
Public Health, will now evaluate the concentrations of
pharmaceuticals and other chemicals. They will develop conservative
screening levels to determine what concentrations will adequately
protect public health and then compare the reported levels to the
screening levels to decide if any of the chemicals pose a public
health risk. Once this evaluation is completed, Illinois EPA will
provide the results to public water supply agencies and to the
general public.
In an effort to reduce the amount of pharmaceuticals discharged
into our environment, the Illinois EPA is working with communities
across the state to collect and safely dispose of unwanted and
unused pharmaceuticals. If your community is interested in
co-sponsoring a collection, call the Illinois EPA's Waste Reduction
Unit at 217-785-8604. In addition, the Illinois EPA continues to
accept pharmaceuticals at its household hazardous waste collection
events at locations across the state each spring and fall. The
current collection schedule is available at
http://www.epa.state.il.us/land/
hazardous-waste/household-haz-waste/
hhwc-schedule.html.
[Text from
Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency
file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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