At a wedding reception two years ago, I met a woman who worked in environmental science. In particular, she was doing research into steroid use and it’s effects on amphibian populations. You see, she said, what was happening is people who used drugs regularly would pass a large portion of the drugs through their system, and after sewer treatment it would end up in lakes and streams where it would turn the frogs and fishies all hermaphroditic and worse.
I certainly thought that was interesting, and previously didn’t know that such a thing was possible. Now, this fact is national headlines with the release of a new AP report this week. And it’s not just steroids. In Indianapolis, our water is apparently caffeinated. In Southern California, they have numerous behavioral drugs in their water (big surprise, there). In Philadelphia, which is by my count the most contaminated city in the country, there are over 56 different drugs and chemicals in their tap water that originated with people taking pharmaceuticals.
And now today, the AP is reporting about that nice lady at the wedding’s research — along with other people’s. The fish are swapping sexes. The frogs are growing extra legs. And to think, we were all just worried about some silly Mercury.
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