Alarming Percentage , of Earth's Water Supply , Contaminated With <br />Pharmaceuticals.<br />Alarming Percentage , of Earth's Water Supply , Contaminated With <br />Pharmaceuticals.<br />According to new research, nearly half of the world's rivers have been poisoned with over-the-counter and prescription drugs.<br />Our findings show a very high proportion <br />of rivers around the world are at threat <br />from pharmaceutical pollution, Alejandra Bouzas-Monroy, corresponding author and <br />Ph.D. student at the University of York, via 'Newsweek'.<br />Our findings show a very high proportion <br />of rivers around the world are at threat <br />from pharmaceutical pollution, Alejandra Bouzas-Monroy, corresponding author and <br />Ph.D. student at the University of York, via 'Newsweek'.<br />'Newsweek' reports that the detected pharmaceuticals include <br />antibiotics, antidepressants, painkillers, oral <br />contraceptives, hay fever pills and tranquilizers.<br />'Newsweek' reports that the detected pharmaceuticals include <br />antibiotics, antidepressants, painkillers, oral <br />contraceptives, hay fever pills and tranquilizers.<br />In the United Kingdom, epilepsy drug <br />carbamazepine is most commonly found, <br />showing up in nearly 70% of British rivers.<br />In the United Kingdom, epilepsy drug <br />carbamazepine is most commonly found, <br />showing up in nearly 70% of British rivers.<br />Out of the 54 sampling sites <br />across the U.K., drugs were <br />detected in all but four.<br />The study found that over 43% of those sites <br />had "concerning" amounts of active <br />pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).<br />We demonstrate that approximately <br />43.5% of river locations globally have <br />concentrations where ecotoxicological <br />effects might be expected, with some <br />locations expected to suffer effects <br />on multiple trophic levels and endpoints, Alejandra Bouzas-Monroy, corresponding author and <br />Ph.D. student at the University of York, via 'Newsweek'.<br />The lack of global API monitoring <br />data means for many regions <br />of the world we have no idea <br />of the level of potential impacts, Alejandra Bouzas-Monroy, corresponding author and <br />Ph.D. student at the University of York, via 'Newsweek'.<br />'Newsweek' reports that the amount of drugs <br />found in Earth's water supply is expected <br />to increase by two-thirds before 2050.<br />The study was published on June 22 in 'Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.'
