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December 18, 2003
By: Dustin Cyril
Website: http://www.water-purification-filters.com
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Researchers at the University of Missouri-Rolla have found removing antibiotic drugs and other medicines from drinking water supplies could be easier than it first appears. It is likely that water treatment plant operators can cut trace levels of pharmaceuticals that get through sewage treatment systems by adjusting amounts of activated charcoal and chlorine now used to purify water. Water treatment plant operators might not have to worry about needing new, expensive technology to rid water of drugs if levels of such substances are regulated in the future. Researchers and a group of students have been using $1 million worth of testing equipment at a UMR laboratory to find ways of removing sulfa antibiotics and endocrine disruptors from drinking water by using traditional water treatment methods.
Finding pharmaceuticals in surface water and groundwater started becoming a health and environmental concern in the late 1990s when water-testing methods became sophisticated enough to detect the drugs. The drugs enter the sewer system through several sources, including poultry and beef farms. Researchers now are trying to determine what effect, if any, pharmaceuticals have in water supplies.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is also studying whether to develop formal recommendations for what to do with old medicines. The UMR research indicates that if a little activated charcoal removes small amounts of drugs, increasing the amount of charcoal can remove up to 90 percent of the traces of drugs. Adjusting chlorination systems also seems to work, said environmental engineering professor Craig Adams, who directs UMR's Environmental Research Center.
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Author Notes:
Dustin Cyril contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.water-purification-filters.com.
Get educated on the benefits of water purification systems and different water filters available.
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