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What I'd worry about is not PFAs, but excreted drugs. Some drugs (or their byproducts) are persistent, and have been deliberately selected to have biological e
by pfdietz 2y ago
What I'd worry about is not PFAs, but excreted drugs. Some drugs (or their byproducts) are persistent, and have been deliberately selected to have biological effects.
I take metformin. This drug is mostly excreted in feces. The dry mass of feces might be 1% metformin for someone taking typical doses. The drug does break down in the environment, but only slowly.
- janice1999 2y agoThis is already a known issue and waste water plans have treatments to address some of the impacts. I found an article from 2012 where they specifically talk about cost of addressing the contraceptive pill's impact on British water systems. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jun/02/water-system-toxic-contraceptive-pill https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/jun/02/water-sy...
- pfdietz 2y agoBut how could such treatments work? The drugs are a wide range of organic chemicals mixed in with the literal crap of sludge, which is also a wide range of organic chemicals. Just how is this supposed to separate out or degrade the drug residues without also destroying the sludge?
- Citizen8396 2y agoPFAS have exceptional properties that make them difficult to degrade, especially when it has been ingested. As a result, exposure to them will lead to bioaccumulation. Wastewater is treated to remove things like metformin, and anything that eludes that can be metabolized normally.
- pfdietz 2y agoWWTPs have not proven successful at removing metformin or its metabolite. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213343722009794 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221334372... Granted, this particular chemical partitions into water, not the solids, so it isn't the best example here.
- 486sx33 2y agoArtificial estrogen comes to mind as well