Drug pollution in the St Lawrence river!

[11 March 2009 - 10h59]
[mis à jour le 11 March 2009 à 10h59]

Drugs such as antihypertensives – used to combat high cholesterol. The University of Montreal in Canada has confirmed the presence of medicinal waste in river water, in the St Lawrence River, despite the use of water purification plants.

Professor Sébastien Sauvé and his colleagues studied the river water upstream and downstream of the Montreal water purification plant and discovered traces of bezafibrate (used to treat high cholesterol), of enalapril (used to treat high blood pressure) and of methotrexate and cyclophosphamide, both used in chemotherapy.

All these drugs were detected in waste water entering the purification plant. On exiting – ie into the St Lawrence River which is where the treated water ends up – only bezafibrate and enalapril were still found. But a question mark remains over this: we don’t know whether we failed to detect chemotherapy products because there weren’t any or because our detection method was not sophisticated enough, points out Professor Sauvé.

We do not yet know the effects of medicinal traces on the fauna and the flora of the St Lawrence, he continues. It is possible that certain species could be vulnerable. Other ecotoxicological studies will be necessary. But some studies refer to consequences such as the development of male genital organs in the females of certain species. And in the case of certain fish, on the contrary, it is the male who takes on certain female characteristics…

Source : Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 26 January 2009

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