What's In YOUR Water

This just in, when water providers find pharmaceuticals in water, they often don't report it.  And in generalized studies, they often don't state which city has what in their water.  Why, you may ask?  Well according to Philadelphia Water Department spokesperson Laura Copeland, "It would be irresponsible to communicate to the public about this issue, as doing so would only generate questions that scientific research has not yet answered. We don't want to create the perception where people would be alarmed." 

Hey Laura, how about you work on the answering those questions and let us decide what we should and should not be worried about.  How about letting your 1.5 million drinkers decide whether they care about the traces of 56 pharmaceuticals found in the water they drink.

Yes, this analysis is down to the molecular level and no one knows the effect these trace particles have on the people drinking water (or how effective that Brita really is), but I am still a fan of giving people the information and then letting them decide what to do with it.

Here are the chemicals found in a few cities:

Cincinnati (hometown :) - Caffeine 

                                                                                        

Denver, CO - Unspecified Antibiotics (fun!)

San Diego, CA - Ibuprofen, Meprobamate (minor tranquilzer) and Phenytoin (antiepileptic)