Topic: Prozac in Water Supply

When I first heard about this I thought they were talking about Prozac in the water supply in NZ, I'm glad to say that it is happening over in Britain, not in NZ but still ... with the way things are going it won't take long for it to happen all over the world.

Prozac "found in drinking water"

Sun Aug 8, 8:42 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Traces of the anti-depressant Prozac have been found in the drinking water supply, setting off alarm bells with environmentalists concerned about potentially toxic effects.

The Observer said that a report by the government's environment watchdog found Prozac was building up in river systems and groundwater used for drinking supplies.

The exact quantity of Prozac in the drinking water was unknown, but the Environment Agency's report concluded Prozac could be potentially toxic in the water table.

Experts say that Prozac finds its way into rivers and water systems from treated sewage water, and some believe the drugs could affect reproductive ability.

A spokesman for the Drinking Water Inspectorate said Prozac was likely to be found in a considerably watered down form that was unlikely to pose a health risk.

"It is extremely unlikely that there is a risk, as such drugs are excreted in very low concentrations," the spokesman said. "Advanced treatment processes installed for pesticide removal are effective in removing drug residues."
But environmentalists called for an urgent investigation into the findings.

Norman Baker, environment spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, said it looked "like a case of hidden mass medication upon the unsuspecting public".

"It is alarming that there is no monitoring of levels of Prozac and other pharmacy residues in our drinking water," he told the Observer.

The Environment Agency has held a series of meetings with the pharmaceutical industry to discuss any repercussions for human health or the ecosystem, the Observer said.
Prescription of anti-depressants has surged in Britain. In the decade up to 2001, overall prescriptions of antidepressants rose from 9 million to 24 million a year, the paper said.

That's petty scary really.

Not just for the fact that it is Prozac, all the arguments against Anti-depressants deserves its own thread, but the fact that a drug could build up to such levels in the water supplies.

NZ is smaller than the British Isles, but there's still the possibility that the water that we all drink has dodgy levels of dodgy substances in it, all without our knowledge.

It's not like the Prozac has suddenly appeared there, it's just that now the levels are alarming enough to bother telling the public about.

I hate to think what doesn't get filtered out in the Auckland water that comes from the Waikato River.

Ok the bugs can be sterilised and the "big" stuff can be filtered but what about the chemicals?
After all, the Waikato River drains probably 1/10 (if not more) of the total rainfall on the North Island. In this area we have all sorts of habitation, industry and agriculture which creates all sorts of "by-products". These range from treated human sewrage to run off from farms which have been covered in a cocktail of chemicals.

I would not be suprised if there were things far worse than prozac that 'got through' this 'emergency' water supply that is being run 24/7 because once commisioned it was too expensive to mothball for the next drought. *inserts no brainer emoticon*

*starts new shopping list*

1. Bottled Water

Trogg,

Knowing someone who has allot to do with water, and that the treatment plant is in our area. Go out and have a look at the treatment plant. The water that xomes from Waikato is cleaner than the water you get from other places.

Could be worse, our town voted as recently as last year that they would rather not know what was in their water. We are one of the few who do not have flouride in our supply as a rule. However, because we have outgrown our supply, sometimes it is necessary to source water from other places nearby, which is flouridated. We had a referendum in which the choices were

a) Do you want us to just flouridate the whole lot?

or

b) Do you want to carry on not knowing when we are flouridating it or not?

They voted overwhelmingly for ignorance.

Originally Posted by dribblor

Could be worse, our town voted as recently as last year that they would rather not know what was in their water. We are one of the few who do not have flouride in our supply as a rule. However, because we have outgrown our supply, sometimes it is necessary to source water from other places nearby, which is flouridated. We had a referendum in which the choices were

a) Do you want us to just flouridate the whole lot?

or

b) Do you want to carry on not knowing when we are flouridating it or not?

They voted overwhelmingly for ignorance.

That is really pathetic.......this world of ours!