The answer is almost certainly yes. Drugs have been found in tap water in the water supplies of millions of Americans.
The Associated Press conducted a study that found hormones, antibiotics, highly toxic chemotherapeutic agents, mood stabilizers, pain relievers, cholesterol medications, steroids, and many others in our water. They studied 24 metropolitan areas across the country.
Another study found 56 different drugs in Philadelphia’s water.
It is true that drugs in tap water are found in very small concentrations. Public health authorities and pharmaceutical companies dismiss the idea that there is anything wrong with drugs in tap water because the amounts are low.
Most water treatment facilities don’t even test for drugs, and there are almost no requirements to do so. The federal government does not require testing and has not set limits for drug levels in tap water.
A California water official stated that the public would not know how to interpret the data anyway. Isn’t that comforting?
Many authorities, however, are very concerned. They worry that even small amounts, consumed over many, many years, could be a problem. They also worry that babies and children, whose immune systems and other defenses are underdeveloped, are at greater risk.
The EPA is acknowledging the potential problem and says they are taking it seriously.
An associated concern is how chlorine in tap water reacts with drugs in the water.
Chlorine, while it kills harmful bacteria, has its own problems. It is a dangerous chemical in its own right, and it reacts with organic material in the water to form “THMs” or “trihalomethanes” and other “VOCs” (volatile organic compounds).
It also reacts with pharmaceuticals in water to form the same compounds.
Both THMs and VOCs are toxic and even carcinogenic, and their levels in water are regulated by the EPA.
The answer, of course, is to install a home water filtration system. The right ones are cheap and effective. They will not only remove almost all drugs in tap water, but also chlorine and most other contaminants.
The best-selling systems in the United States are reverse osmosis, or “RO,” and carbon filtration. The best carbon filtration systems are called “Solid Block Activated Carbon” or “SBAC”.
I prefer SBAC units. They are cheaper to buy and cheaper to operate. They also don’t waste water or remove minerals our bodies need like reverse osmosis units do. They remove over 99% of chlorine and most THMs and VOCs. They eliminate any parasite that goes through the water treatment process. They remove lead and other heavy metals.
A top of the line SBAC unit, like the one I bought to protect my family, can be had for around $100 and purifies water at a cost of around $.10 per gallon. Pretty cheap protection. Now I don’t have to worry about drugs in my tap water, or anything else in my tap water.