- Note - Fish in every US lake, river, or on the along
the coast where
- 'treated' sewage is being discharged are likely showing
the same
- contamination...and worse. -ed
-
- OSLO (Reuters) - Fish in seas near a Norwegian Arctic
city are getting an unexpectedly strong cocktail of caffeine and painkillers
from local sewers, a scientist said on Monday.
-
- Some samples taken very close to a sewer outlet near
a psychiatric hospital also showed measurable amounts of anti-epileptic
drugs and anti-depressants.
-
- "We don't know what effect this is having on the
environment," said Ole-Anders Braathen, head of department at the
Norwegian Institute of Air Research which led the study of waters off the
city of Tromsoe.
-
- "The measurements showed surprisingly high doses,
especially of caffeine," he told Reuters, adding that caffeine and
drugs flushed from city sewers may take longer to break down in icy Arctic
waters than further south.
-
- The study showed traces of caffeine from human drinks
like coffee and cola at 20-80 nanograms (billionth of a gram) per liter
in seas off Tromsoe, which is on an island ringed by waters about 1-2 km
(0.6-1.2 miles) wide.
-
- Similarly, Braathen said the Tromsoe sea water contained
measurable traces of ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug often used to
treat arthritis.
-
- Braathen said levels of pharmaceutical residues matched
those expected for a European city three times the size.
-
- The effect of the drug traces on marine life are little
known.
-
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