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http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/ ... 60,00.html

Stay calm everyone, there's Prozac in the drinking water

Mark Townsend
Sunday August 8, 2004
The Observer

It should make us happy, but environmentalists are deeply alarmed: Prozac, the anti-depression drug, is being taken in such large quantities that it can now be found in Britain's drinking water.

Environmentalists are calling for an urgent investigation into the revelations, describing the build-up of the antidepressant as 'hidden mass medication'. The Environment Agency has revealed that Prozac is building up both in river systems and groundwater used for drinking supplies.

The government's chief environment watchdog recently held a series of meetings with the pharmaceutical industry to discuss any repercussions for human health or the ecosystem.

The discovery raises fresh fears that GPs are overprescribing Prozac, Britain's antidepressant of choice. In the decade up to 2001, overall prescriptions of antidepressants rose from nine million to 24 million a year.

A recent report by the Environment Agency concluded Prozac could be potentially toxic in the water table and said the drug was a 'potential concern'.

However, the precise quantity of Prozac in the nation's water supplies remains unknown. The government's Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) said Prozac was likely to be found in a considerably 'watered down' form that was unlikely to pose a health risk.

Dr Andy Croxford, the Environment's Agency's policy manager for pesticides, told The Observer: 'We need to determine the effects of this low-level, almost continuous discharge.'

Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat's environment spokesman, said the revelations exposed a failing by the government on an important public health issue. He added that the public should be told if they were inadvertently taking drugs like Prozac.

'This looks like a case of hidden mass medication upon the unsuspecting public,' Baker said. 'It is alarming that there is no monitoring of levels of Prozac and other pharmacy residues in our drinking water.'

Experts say that Prozac finds its way into rivers and water systems from treated sewage water. Some believe the drugs could affect their reproductive ability.

European studies have also expressed disquiet over the impact of pharmaceuticals building up in the environment, warning that an effect on wildlife and human health 'cannot be excluded'.

'It is extremely unlikely that there is a risk, as such drugs are excreted in very low concentrations,' a DWI spokesman said. 'Advanced treatment processes installed for pesticide removal are effective in removing drug residues,' he added.

Der er vist ikke meget mere at sige...

Politiken - 9. aug 2004 kl. 22:35

Medicinrester i drikkevand

I årtier er forbruget af antidepressive midler vokset. Nu ses de første tegn på, at også disse stoffer havner i naturen.
Af Jesper Tornbjerg Send artikel Print artikel
Fund af antidepressive midler i britiske floder og grundvand brugt til drikkevand foruroliger de danske vandværker.

Miljøpolitisk medarbejder Claus Vangsgård fra vandværkernes brancheorganisation Danva siger, at de danske myndigheder bør overveje at lede efter medicinrester i forbindelse med det store Novana-program, hvor vandet bl.a. testes for sprøjtegifte.

»Det er ubehageligt, hvis medicinrester er ved at blive et problem«, siger Claus Vangsgård.

Forbruget er vokset
I Storbritannien er forbruget af antidepressiv medicin - først og fremmest Prozac - vokset gevaldigt de seneste år. Prozac, der også kendes under navnet Fontex, kan tilsyneladende udskilles med urin og havner i naturen via utætte kloakrør, åer via renseanlæg eller slam spredt ud på marker.

Skjult medicinering
Den britiske miljøstyrelse har ifølge avisen The Observer haft møder med medicinalindustrien for at analysere, hvad kritikere kalder »skjult masse-medicinering«. Hvor store mængder Prozac, der er endt i drikkevandet, står dog endnu ikke klart. Sandsynligvis drejer det sig om stærkt fortyndede koncentrationer.

I Danmark sælges Fontex i hård konkurrence med bl.a. Cipramil/Cipralex og Akarin.

Som i Storbritannien er forbruget vokset gevaldigt de seneste ti år, men der er tilsyneladende ikke gjort fund af de typer medicinrester i drikkevand. Derimod er der fundet medicinrester fra dambrug og hormonforstyrrende stoffer i åer. Miljøstyrelsen er i øjeblikket ved at kortlægge, hvordan østrogen - naturlige kønshormoner såvel som kunstige som p-piller - påvirker det danske vandmiljø.

Søg og du skal finde
At den antidepressive medicin ikke er dukket op i analyser, kan skyldes, at myndighederne ikke har forsøgt at finde stofferne, mener professor Erik Arvin fra Danmarks Tekniske Universitet. Han påpeger, at historien om drikkevandet de seneste år har vist, at man som hovedregel »altid finder det, man leder efter«.

Civilingeniør Christian Ammitsøe fra Miljøstyrelsen påpeger, at briterne drikker mere renset overfladevand, end vi gør i Danmark. Derfor vil eksempelvis medicinrester typisk være et større problem i Storbritannien end i Danmark.

Om dansk drikkevand skal testes for antidepressiver er for tidligt at svare på, mener Christian Ammitsøe. Miljøstyrelsen vil gerne nærstudere de britiske data først.

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