Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2009 - (Page 16)

Medicine, Medicine Everywhere by Ronit Abramson For many years, the toilet bowl has been the recommended venue for medication disposal. It may sound like a good solution, keeping pets and children from accidentally ingesting harmful drugs—but recent studies have shown that flushing our unwanted drugs isn’t good for the environment or humans. ISEF winner Ronit Abramson takes a look at how seemingly harmless things, like taking a Tylenol, can have an impact on the environment. T wo years ago, when I saw a newspaper editorial arguing for a disposal system for unused pharmaceuticals, the issue of pharmaceuticals in waterways was rarely mentioned in the media. Preliminary data from a survey of pharmaceutical products in American waterways, conducted by United States Geological Survey (USGS) scientists, had just been quietly released. But for the public, the problem had largely not been realized. Most people assume that once you swallow a pill, it is absorbed by your body. While our bodies do use some of the medication, between 30 and 90 percent passes through the body and is flushed into the sewage system. In addition, estimates by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America suggest that between three and seven percent of dispensed medications go unused. In many cases these are also washed down the sink or toilet. Although wastewater is treated before being released into the environment or recycled back to people’s homes, the process does not remove all drug residues, allowing drugs to end up in our lakes, rivers, oceans, and drinking water. Discarded medicines are also contained in runoff from local landfills. This polluted rainwater empties into waterways directly or via storm drains. Another source of pharmaceutical runoff comes from medicines administered to animals. In livestock and fish, antibiotics are commonly used to reduce infections, and synthetic hormones to stimulate growth. These drugs are excreted as waste that is either washed away into natural waterways, or collected and used as fertilizer for crops, where it seeps into the soil and runs off into bodies of water. Altered States Individual quantities of these drugs may be small, but some are slow to degrade and often become chronic pollutants in waterways. Pharmaceuticals have been detected in bodies of water worldwide. A recent Associated Press investigation found that at least 46 million Americans have traces of pharmaceuticals in their drinking water. Continuous exposure to low levels of drugs can affect the behavior and physiology of aquatic organisms, such as triggering fish to mate during the wrong seasons, so that offspring are born in winter when they cannot survive the cold temperatures. Even over-the-counter drugs such as acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol) or A diatom cell before antibiotic exposure (top) and after (bottom). Note the loss of the cell’s normal texture after exposure. ibuprofen (Advil and Motrin) have turned up in bodies of water, and can alter pigments of aquatic plants so that the cells are unable to conduct photosynthesis. We know that overuse of antibiotics leads to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, yet we could be getting a small dose of antibiotics with every sip of water we take. The growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in our waterways could eventually render bacterial diseases worldwide untreatable and uncontrollable. Consider E. coli found in contaminated water supplies or uncooked poultry. If you are infected, the standard treatment is antibiotics. But if that bacterial cell has been growing in a body of water containing antibiotics, or in a chicken that has been drinking antibiotic-contaminated water, it is increasingly possible that antibiotics will be ineffective against your illness. When I began studying the topic, most research on the effects of pharmaceutical runoff on organisms had been conducted via simple observation of ecosystems, for example, downstream from a pharmaceutical production plant or hospital. Some such studies revealed male fish with female organs, and sick and decaying plant life. These anecdotal observations were then confirmed by lab experiments that controlled all other variables except the addition of drugs to the water. Chemical analyses of water composition, however, are conducted with laboratory equipment that is both costly and limited in availability. Government organizations such as the USGS and city environmental health departments have assumed most of the responsibility for testing and maintain the protocols necessary to conduct the analyses. But if pharmaceuticals are such a significant aquatic pollutant, then why isn’t there more widespread testing? I was amazed at how shocked people were when I raised the issue, and how many times I was fervently interrogated by those who didn’t realize that pharmaceuticals could actually be polluting our water supply. Canary in a Coalmine For a science fair project, I decided to investigate biological indicators, living organisms that can detect pollutants in the environment. I had heard my biology teacher talk about bio-indicators before, but I had just filed it away as one of the definitions I would have to learn to pass freshman biology. Now it began to click: Bio-indicators January/February 009 16 imagine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2009

Imagine Magazine - John Hopkins - January/February 2009
Contents
Letters
Big Problems
In My Own Words
Witness to a Pandemic
An Ounce of Prevention
Of Math and Measles
Predicting the Next Pandemic
Medicine, Medicine Everywhere
Food Matters
Looking for a Challenge? Try Summer College!
CTY: The Real Deal
Hot Topic
Selected Opportunities & Resources
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Middle Ground
One Step Ahead
Exploring Career Options
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review
Creative Minds Imagine
Sudoku
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2009