What Happens to Wildlife Swimming in a Sea of Our Drug Residues?

Aug 12, 2021

Fish hooked on meth? It's a catchy headline that made the rounds a few weeks ago, but it represents a serious and growing problem. Our rivers and streams have become a soup of hundreds of drugs — mostly pharmaceuticals — that come from the treated water released from wastewater facilities.

Conventional wastewater treatment can remove some, but not all, of the many chemical compounds we excrete from our bodies — or those we improperly dispose of — says Diana Aga, director of the RENEW (Research and Education in Energy, Environment and Water) Institute at the University at Buffalo.

One of the worst offenders, she says, are antidepressants, which are a real downer for wildlife health.

https://www.ecowatch.com/wastewater-...654630304.html