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A study conducted for the first time on a global scale reveals that the levels of drug pollution in rivers and rivers are dangerous for the environment for a quarter of them.
For the first time, a study diagnoses the drug pollution of rivers on a global scale. So far other analyzes have been carried out in areas such as North America, Western Europe and China, but not on a global scale. Result: “a quarter of the waters studied had a level of drug pollution above the threshold considered dangerous for the planet, “including two antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole and ciprofloxacin), an antihistamine (loratadine) and a drug used in the treatment of hypertension (propranolol).”
How do traces of drugs end up in rivers? Because once ingested, the drugs end up in the wastewater that flows into the rivers.
Drug substances present in all samples
Inrae, a public research institute working for a coherent and sustainable development of agriculture, food and the environment, is relaying the results of this study conducted by the University of York in France.
In 2018, the study group obtained, thanks to the collaboration of 86 other institutions, the samples of 258 rivers and streams in 104 different countries on all continents, including the Amazon, the Mississippi and the Mekong). “The analysis of the samples covered 61 of the most commonly used medicinal substances: antibiotics, analgesics, anti-inflammatories, antihistamines, antidiabetics, antidepressants, stimulants (such as caffeine).”
The level of pollution linked to the socio-economic conditions of the region
Drug concentration was detected in all samples, but to varying degrees. “The results show that the degree of pollution of rivers is correlated with the socio-economic conditions of the country: the most contaminated sites being those of low-income countries and with little or no domestic wastewater treatment system, or from the pharmaceutical industries”explains INRAE.
The presence of this drug pollution is worrying in the sense that contrary to the knowledge we have about the impact of drugs on the human body, “their impacts are unpredictable on other living organisms (fish, crustaceans, microorganisms, flora…) and can disrupt their biology and life cycle.”