Pharmaceutical pollution in our water systems is a global problem these days, along with other micro-pollutant contamination, and apart from the fact that it has the potential to harm fish and other aquatic creatures, it can be harmful to us too.
While the concentrations of such pollutants are currently fairly low, they are bad enough to warrant concern, and this has led a team of scientists to research methods of how to make commonly used medicines more biodegradable without impacting their effectiveness.
Klaus Kümmerer of Leuphana University of Lüneburg in Germany and a team of scientists have come up with a method based on ultraviolet light that they have tested on propranolol, a beta-blocker used to treat high blood pressure.
According to a paper published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, they got the idea to use ultraviolet light from a method that is used to remove pollutants from wastewater, as it can break various compounds down into more biodegradable products.
Propranolol was used for the testing because it is a commonly used drug that does not biodegrade when it reaches wastewater, and recent concentrations have proven to be toxic to some aquatic species.
During the study the propranolol was dissolved in pure water and then exposed it to ultraviolet light for approximately 4 hours. The result was 16 breakdown products which were then incubated with effluent from a sewage treatment plant to test their biodegradability. While the study is still ongoing and the principle still needs to be proven, the team believes that the application holds great potential for further more sustainable uses.
According to Susan D. Richardson, an environmental chemistry researcher at the University of South Carolina agrees that the team still face many hurdles, but says that if they can clear those hurdles the new technique could be a revolutionary method of lowering our load of drugs to the environment.
This is great news, but in the meantime while my drinking water still tastes and smells of chemicals I will continue to supply my drinking water and that of my family via our Pure Water Cooler from Living-Water so that I can be assured of drinking the purest water possible.
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