This picture basically shows what people might take in when they drink contaminated water.
Summary: Recent studies have found traces of prescription drugs in drinking water. When people take medication, some of the medication is absorbed in their bodies while the rest goes into their waste. When the waste gets filtered, not all of the medication is cleaned out. Thus the medication appears in the water that we drink. This is becoming a major issue in the world because scientists are afraid that the long-term consequences will affect the human health. The saddest thing about this problem is that “the federal government doesn’t require any testing and hasn’t set safety limits for drugs in water.” If people do not start caring about this issue, human embryonic kidney cells, blood cells and breast cancer cells can be affected. Besides humans, wildlife can be affected too. Pharmaceuticals were found in wildlife waterways all around the nation and globe. One way the water is hurting wildlife species is making male fish become feminized by creating egg yolk proteins that are usually found in females. Prescription drug drink water is hurting our precious ecosystem.Opinion: After reading this article, I was surprised that traces of prescription drugs were found in drinking water. I was also really surprise when I read that the federal government doesn’t really care about this issue. They need to realize that this is serious problem in the long run. Many humans and wildlife species can become hurt or even die from taking in this contaminated water for over a period of time. We as a global community need to help end this problem by getting filters that are able to clean out the leftovers of prescription drugs. We also need to be careful with what we drink and how we can prevent the prescription drugs from going into the wildlife waterways. This problem should be solved in the near future or we might not have a future.
Questions:
1. How can we prevent prescription drugs from getting into wildlife waterways?
2. What are some other long term consequences?
3. How can we get the federal government more involved?
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ReplyDeleteI think that it is absolutely horrible that we don't realize that the water we drink to maintain good health, is actually harming us in the long run. I always thought that prescription drugs were a help to our bodies but the fact that it contaminates our water and enters other bodies, is shocking. After finding out that water is contaminated with prescription drugs even in well developed societies, I can connect easily to other countries. I know some people living in small undeveloped villages in India, and I can only imagine how contaminated their water is, and how it will impact them. I agree with Jenna that we need to deal with this issue as soon as possible, because if we don't then our animals, humans in small countries, and any other species will be severly harmed. The fact that water is one of the most important sources for most species to survive, having that source become contaminated is a threat to life. I think that quality water supply will someday become the most impacting limiting factors on humans, who have close to no limiting factors whatsoever. I really hope this issue is resolved soon because now every time i drink water I'm going to be questioning the purity of it and most people will fear becoming sick and stop drinking water.
More Questions
1) Which prescription drugs are found in the water that will become the most harmful in the long term health of humans?
2) Are there any species that will not be impacted by having prescription drugs in their water? Are there any species that are able to fight the medicine off?
3) Why is the government not concerned about this matter and what have they said about the issue? Have they tried anything at all to fix it? Why does the government not get involved, when in the long run they will lose more money in curing peoples health?
**Jenna, I can't see the picture**
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ReplyDeleteI agree with what Chandni and Jenna said; the fact that drugs can be found in water is scary. I know that prescription drugs are used to help the body, but if the body does not require it in the first place and it has a continual intake of it, there can be major medical issues (as stated above in the article). I’m scared at how harmful this issue is, considering water is essential to live and everybody drinks it daily. If it is contaminated in high portions, then it is shocking that long term health issues can develop from drinking it. I personally have read news reports similar to this, talking about how different contaminants can be found in water and are potentially harmful to our bodies. I hope the government does something about this soon, because no one should have to experience medical issues just from drinking water.
Expansion
http://www.home-water-purifiers-and-filters.com/water-contaminants.php
This link provided gives a list of even more contaminants that are commonly found in water. It shows an extensive list of things from bacteria to various chemicals such as chlorine and arsenic, the maximum acceptable level, what water sources they can be found in, the health effects from having an intake of them, and the possible purification of the water to remove the contaminants.
Opinion- I agree with what everyone has said so far, the fact that we still find traces of prescription drugs are found in the water is scary. Even though they are meant to help the body, too many of them or if you take them in when they are not needed is bad for your health. I did not know that this issue was so big, and the fact that the government does not care about our health. You would think the government would try and help get these drugs out of our drinking water, but I guess not. Also not only is this hurting our own health, it is hurting the health of the wildlife around us. I was surprised to hear that the drugs are causing some male fish to become feminized. These drugs are making big impacts in our incoming future, and they need to be removed from our drinking water.
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I think we can get the government involved by really showing them what these drugs are doing to the world around them. They need to see what is going on to humans, and to the wildlife when they intake these drugs. People need to start talking about this issue much more so the government sees how much we care about this topic, and hopefully they will start to care too.
Opinion: This article is shocking to me. It scares me to think that our health could be at risk because of the water we drink. I have never heard of prescription drugs being found in water, but now that I know I will be more aware. I usually do not think before I drink a glass of water, but now I will try to be more careful. Almost every species depends on water to survive and if we damage drinking water with prescription drugs, then the species on our Earth will be in serious trouble. This connects to my life because one summer when I was down the shore, we were not allowed in the water because prescription needles were found in the ocean. This connects to this article because people's healths could be at risk because of medicines being found in water. Humans need to be more careful and both of these problems could be solved. If our government and citizens just put a little more effort and be more careful when dealing with drinking water, we will have a brighter future.
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http://www.cyber-nook.com/
This is a website all about drinking water. It gives you the truth about drinking water that some water companies may not publish to the public. This wevsite also states that one day your tap water can be safe, but the next day it can be contaminated. An example of this was during the summer of 1993 in Milwaukee when one-fourth of the people living in the suburban area became ill with cryptosporidiosis.