Water is among the most critical components for a healthy life. Consumption of clean water promotes people’s health, and drinking contaminated water can bring about several health issues, including increased morbidity and mortality among consumers. There are several things that can contribute to water contamination. Some contaminants may cause severe health issues, while others may be too little to harm people. Individuals exposed to contaminated water may sometimes experience temporary health issues such as nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. However, at other times, people may experience permanent health issues such as reproductive problems, cancer, brain damage, and developmental delays (Bexfield et al., 2019). However, it is critical to take appropriate precautions to prevent the risk of such health issues. The water quality issue that has been considered in this case is ‘Pharmaceuticals in Drinking Water Supplies,’ focusing more on the background of the issue, assessment of exposure, assessment of public health response impact, and current status of the action and proposed action.
Background of the Water Quality Issue
Pharmaceuticals are among the components that contaminate the quality of drinking water. In this case, pharmaceuticals refer to various drugs used to prevent, treat, and manage various diseases. At times, these medications may expire before they are used. In such cases, the medications may be disposed of wrongly, to the extent that they end up in various drinking water sources. Medication tins or vials may only be emptied partially in some cases, causing some medications to be left within the container. When such containers are wrongly disposed of, the little medications left in the tins or vials may be washed away by rainwater into various water sources (Bexfield et al., 2019). Despite how little the medication remaining in the containers may be, it can contaminate large water bodies used to supply drinking water. When the improper disposal of expired medications and incomplete emptied medication containers occur repeatedly for a long period, water contamination worsens to the extent that its impact on people becomes severe and permanent. However, this is experienced when water from various sources does not undergo the appropriate treatment to remove contaminants. Depending on the type of medications disposed of from various healthcare facilities, the water may be contaminated with harmful drugs (Bexfield et al., 2019). Therefore, the public health department is critical to ensure that the public does not consume water contaminated with pharmaceuticals.
According to the history of water quality review, the level of pharmaceuticals in drinking water supplies has been increasing at a high rate worldwide. The reason for the increased contamination is that the number of pharmaceutical companies has been ever-increasing, leading to increased production of drugs. Such large amounts of drugs are produced to prevent and treat various health issues that emerge now and then among people (Gwenzi et al., 2023). However, the large the number of pharmaceuticals produced, the more the drugs that expire without being used while kept in various healthcare facilities to treat patients. Besides, the increased availability of drugs due to the large production of pharmaceuticals contributes to the incomplete emptying of drug containers when used in treating patients. These unused drugs may later get into water sources meant for drinking through surface runoff. This is one of the reasons why water contamination with pharmaceuticals has been increasing. There were a few pharmaceutical companies in the past due to a low prevalence of diseases among the public (Gwenzi et al., 2023). Therefore, only a few medications could expire due to the unavailability of medications. Therefore, pharmaceuticals from various healthcare facilities rarely found their way to water sources. The public health department can play a great role in preventing people from contamination since its role is to enhance the health and wellness of the public. In this case, the public health department can assess the level of drinking water contamination to determine whether it is safe for human consumption (Gwenzi et al., 2023). The department can undertake the necessary approaches to improve water safety if the water is unsafe.
Assessment of Exposure
Even though the levels of contamination of drinking water by pharmaceuticals may be low, research indicates that low concentrations of certain pharmaceuticals can have life-threatening health issues for people. Besides, the presence of certain drugs in the drinking water may reduce the effectiveness of various treatment methods. For instance, one of the most common pharmaceuticals found in drinking water is antibiotics, especially tetracycline, sulfamethoxazole, and erythromycin (Kondor et al., 2020). Such medications are rarely emptied from their containers and thus can be disposed of in large numbers. Sometimes they may get into water sources through surface runoff if disposed of wrongly. In such a case, if people drink water contaminated by such antibiotics, they may develop resistance to some bacteria when the drug is later used to treat various bacterial infections. The resistance may contribute to the development of life-threatening health conditions, reducing one’s immune system (Kondor et al., 2020). The more the immunity of an individual becomes weaker, the more the person becomes vulnerable to related diseases.
Besides, hormones are the second most common pharmaceuticals that are highly disposed of, wrongly getting their way to drinking water sources. When drugs containing hormones such as testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen are wrongly disposed of and find their way to drinking water sources, they may contribute to several health issues if consumed. Water contaminated with such hormones interferes with the endocrine system, leading to reproductive, metabolism, as well as growth and development health issues (Husk et al., 2019). For instance, hormonal pharmaceuticals in drinking water may contribute to hormonal imbalance leading to health issues such as thyroid dysfunction, menstrual irregularities, and infertility. Besides, the presence of estrogen compounds in drinking water may lead to different types of cancer, such as prostate and breast cancers. Moreover, water contaminated with hormonal pharmaceuticals can cause developmental issues such as developmental disorders among children and birth defects among newborns. Water contaminated with estrogen compounds may also contribute to neurodevelopmental health issues such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (Husk et al., 2019).
There are several environmental factors that influence humans to drink water contaminated with pharmaceuticals. One of them is surface runoff. Environments that experience much rainfall frequently experience surface runoff. When such runoff passes by an area disposed of with pharmaceuticals, it can carry them to water sources. If water is tapped from such sources for drinking, the water can be highly contaminated with drugs (Kondor et al., 2021). It can be challenging to address this issue since numerous resources may be required to purify such large amounts of water to be safe for human consumption. In this case, getting all the resources needed for water purification may be challenging. Poor wastewater treatment is the second environmental factor influencing humans to drink water contaminated with pharmaceuticals. Some pharmaceuticals dissolve in wastewater to the extent that it is challenging to purify such water to be safe for human consumption (Kondor et al., 2021). Therefore, regardless of how well the water is purified for human use, some pharmaceuticals still remain in the drinking water. The challenge that can be experienced in addressing such an issue is the lack of adequate resources, such as advanced machines for water purification.
Assessment of Public Health Response Impact
Public health plays a great role in responding to drinking water contaminated with pharmaceuticals. This department ensures that public drinking water is always safe for consumption. Therefore, the department recommends that before the various pharmaceutical companies or healthcare facilities release their wastewater into public water bodies, they should treat it to prevent its harmful effects on people (Kondor et al., 2021). Before the effluent is released to various water bodies, it has to meet a particular percentage of purity according to national standards. For example, in the United States, wastewater has to be treated to eliminate at least 85% of the contaminants before it is released to various surface water bodies. Facilities that do not meet such levels are considered to be a threat to human health and, therefore, considered unsuitable to operate. Therefore, it is the role of the public health department to test waste water from various facilities and businesses to ensure that it is safe for humans and aquatic life (Kondor et al., 2021). The department has the authority to terminate the operations of facilities and businesses that release harmful waste, such as pharmaceuticals, to various surface water bodies. By so doing, the department ensures that humans are always free from contaminated water.
Local, state, and federal agencies associated with public health can collaborate with the public health department in different ways to ensure that people consume clean water with no contamination. One of the ways involves developing policies associated with improving water quality. For example, the Clean Water Act that was developed in the U.S. involved the collaboration of the government and the public health department (Kondor et al., 2021). This policy requires that before the wastewater is released to surface water bodies, it has to meet various effluent limitations. However, the limitations vary depending on factors such as the facility type involved and pollutant type. Since when this policy was developed, the rate of water contamination with pharmaceuticals has been increasing at a lower rate. Therefore, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare facilities, and other businesses or settings that use pharmaceuticals should adhere to this policy to prevent contamination of drinking water by such products.
There are numerous other partnerships that the public health department can consider to ensure that drinking water is free from contamination with pharmaceuticals. However, one of the partnerships may involve the law enforcement department. The role of this department would be to take legal action against people or facilities that do not adhere to the standards and policies developed regarding quality water (Veiga-Gómez et al., 2021). Due to fear of legal actions, various facilities can adhere to such standards and policies, leading to high water quality that promotes people’s health. This cannot only be practiced in the U.S. but across the world.
Current Status of Action and Proposed Action
There are numerous actions related to public health that are currently in place to improve water quality. One of them is policies. The U.S. has adopted several policies to improve water quality to promote human health and wellness. For example, the Clean Water Act has effectively ensured that waste materials from various settings, such as pharmaceutical facilities, are not released into surface waters such as wetlands, streams, rivers, and lakes since they may contaminate drinking water supplies. Besides, the Safe Drinking Water Act ensures that public drinking water is regularly tested to determine whether it meets the set standards for human safety. Such a policy has saved the public from several life-threatening health issues. The third policy involves the Total Maximum Daily Load (Veiga-Gómez et al., 2021). This policy limits the amount of water contaminants required before the wastewater is released to various water bodies. This is because water from such bodies may eventually be tapped into drinking water supplies, thus affecting human health. One of the areas that need to be improved is compliance with such policies at a local level. Some people and companies at level levels rarely comply with such policies leading to the contamination of drinking water with various compounds such as pharmaceuticals.
Summary/Conclusion
Pharmaceuticals are among the contaminants that affect water quality. Such compounds come from various pharmaceutical companies, healthcare facilities, and other businesses. These compounds become waste materials when they expire before use, are disposed of wrongly at various sites, and are later washed away by surface runoff to various water bodies. These compounds may also become waste if the drug containers are disposed of before emptying them completely (Veiga-Gómez et al., 2021). Such partially emptied containers may also be washed by surface runoff up to various water bodies. The contamination of water bodies by such pharmaceuticals may affect people if the water is tapped for human consumption. Drinking such water can contribute to several health issues, such as developmental problems, chronic diseases, and hormonal imbalances. However, the public health department and government can protect humans from such contaminations through policies, such as Clean Water Act.
References
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Gwenzi, W., Simbanegavi, T. T., & Rzymski, P. (2023). Household Disposal of Pharmaceuticals in Low-Income Settings: Practices, Health Hazards, and Research Needs. Water, 15(3), 476. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15030476
Husk, B., Sanchez, J. S., Leduc, R., Takser, L., Savary, O., & Cabana, H. (2019). Pharmaceuticals and pesticides in rural community drinking waters of Quebec, Canada–a regional study on the susceptibility to source contamination. Water Quality Research Journal, 54(2), 88–103. https://doi.org/10.2166/wqrj.2019.038
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Kondor, A. C., Molnár, É., Vancsik, A., Filep, T., Szeberényi, J., Szabó, L., … & Szalai, Z. (2021). Occurrence and health risk assessment of pharmaceutically active compounds in riverbank filtrated drinking water. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 41, 102039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2021.102039
Veiga-Gómez, M., Nebot, C., Falqué, E., Pérez, B., Franco, C. M., & Cepeda, A. (2021). Determination of pharmaceuticals and heavy metals in groundwater for human and animal consumption and crop irrigation in Galicia. Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A, 38(12), 2055-2076. https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2021.1964702
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