[SustainableTompkins] Pharmaceuticals in Public Drinking Water

[George Frantz]

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120
  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3/12/2008

CONTACT:
Neil Weaver
Phone: (717) 787-1323
  PENNSYLVANIA SUPPORTS EFFORT TO IDENTIFY PHARMACEUTICALS IN WATER SUPPLIES
  DEP Secretary Says State Began Advanced Testing for Drinking Water Contaminants in 2006
  
  HARRISBURG – Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty today reaffirmed the state’s commitment to ensuring the highest quality drinking water for Pennsylvania’s citizens, and said the state has been at the forefront of a national effort to better identify trace amounts of previously undetectable contaminants. “Over the past two years, our department has been on the cutting-edge of research working to identify contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and antibiotics in our streams, rivers and lakes, which serve as sources of public drinking water for over 8 million people,” said Secretary McGinty. “We’ll continue to work closely with the federal government and our partners to ensure that drinking water coming into our homes and businesses is safe.” 
  The Department of Environmental Protection, in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey, commissioned a joint study in 2006 to review and analyze concentrations of certain pharmaceuticals in south central Pennsylvania. The study, released in October 2007, revealed extremely low levels of pharmaceutical and antibiotic compounds in streams influenced by wastewater and agricultural operations in central Pennsylvania. The second phase of this study is underway, and will analyze pharmaceuticals, antibiotics and hormones near public water supply intakes in urban, suburban and rural communities in every region of the state. The department expects to provide the results from this comprehensive and extensive study by 2010. 
  Secretary McGinty said the information gathered from this research will help assess any potential public-health risks and guide future policy and regulatory decisions. 
   
  “The data we are collecting will be critically important. It will equip us with the scientifically sound information that is necessary to shape future courses of action that to ensure public health and protect the environment against any adverse impact from pharmaceuticals and related chemicals so to be in the best interest of the public.” 
   
  For more information on Phase I of the Concentrations of Selected Pharmaceuticals and Antibiotics in South-Central Pennsylvania Waters, March through September 2006 study, visit, http://pubs.water.usgs.gov/ds300/. 
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