In the news: Study confirms persistent pharmaceutical pollution in nation’s rivers

Posted April 9th, 2013 in Healthy Waters

Studies continue to show the presence and persistence of pharmaceuticals and other personal care products in waterways throughout the country. And improperly disposed-of medicines have been shown to have numerous detrimental effects on plants, animals, and environmental processes. 

A forthcoming paper in Ecological Applications confirms the presence of pharmaceuticals in rivers throughout the U.S. 

From Nature World News: 

“As it turns out, the antihistamine diphenhydramine – used in treating allergic symptoms as well as motion sickness, insomnia and a cold – decreased a biofilm’s photosynthesis by 99 percent in addition to drops in respiration. And it didn’t stop there. The chemical compound actually caused a change in present bacterial species, including a reduction of a group that digests compounds produced by plants and algae.

Nor was it the only one tested to render similar results; in fact, all the pharmaceuticals involved in the study had a measurable and negative impact on biofilm respiration.”

Read the complete article at the link above, and find more information about the study at our UnwantedMeds.org site.

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Educators—2 days left to register! Join us this summer to learn more about the earth’s most precious resource... water! Together with @thengrrec, we are planning to host a @projectwet workshop on August 10. Workshop participants will receive the new Project WET Foundations of Water Education Guide. All the hands-on, interactive and interdisciplinary activities are aligned with Common Core and NGSS.

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Register by July 27th.

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Educators—2 days left to register! Join us this summer to learn more about the earth’s most precious resource... water! Together with @thengrrec, we are planning to host a @projectwet workshop on August 10. Workshop participants will receive the new Project WET Foundations of Water Education Guide. All the hands-on, interactive and interdisciplinary activities are aligned with Common Core and NGSS. The workshop is free for formal and non-formal K-12 of educators, but registration is required and space is limited. Register by July 27th.Learn More at the #linkinbio.

Educators—2 days left to register! Join us this summer to learn more about the earth’s most precious resource... water! Together with @thengrrec, we are planning to host a @projectwet workshop on August 10. Workshop participants will receive the new Project WET Foundations of Water Education Guide. All the hands-on, interactive and interdisciplinary activities are aligned with Common Core and NGSS.

The workshop is free for formal and non-formal K-12 of educators, but registration is required and space is limited.

Register by July 27th.

Learn More at the #linkinbio. ...

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