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Seattle-Area Salmon Are Loaded with Anti-Depressants and Other Drugs

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Re: Seattle-Area Salmon Are Loaded with Anti-Depressants and Other Drugs

#11
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case PCP = post consumer plastic. Think micro plastic particles from ocean debris and trash washed off short.

And particularly worrisome are the little plastic beads that make your ex-foliating shower scrub so pretty looking. They're also made of plastic, and all of it goes down the sewer. In insane quantities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_particle_water_polluti...

Fwiw those are in the process of being phased out in the U.S. (as the Wikipedia article notes). A ban on their use in rinse-off cosmetics (shampoos, toothpaste, body washes, etc.) was passed in December 2015. But the phase-out lasts through 2019. The unusually short and readable bill is here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1321...

Re: Seattle-Area Salmon Are Loaded with Anti-Depressants and Other Drugs

#12
post #2

Too many garage bands.... In seriousness, curious about comparisons related to other areas...

It's happening in every body of water we dump our waste water in. Waste water treatment systems aren't designed to remove all the drugs we excrete.

80% of male fish in the Potomac are infertile from the exposure to birth control.

Re: Seattle-Area Salmon Are Loaded with Anti-Depressants and Other Drugs

#13
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In this case PCP = post consumer plastic. Think micro plastic particles from ocean debris and trash washed off short.

And particularly worrisome are the little plastic beads that make your ex-foliating shower scrub so pretty looking. They're also made of plastic, and all of it goes down the sewer. In insane quantities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_particle_water_polluti...

Obligatory:

http://www.vice.com/video/toxic-garbage-island-1-of-3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_garbage_patch

Also, one can use volcanic pummic and/or ground apricot seeds to accomplish nearly the same thing without killing the ocean. I would humbly suggest these microplastics should be outlawed entirely and there should be more requirements to capture, prevent and recycle plastic and other debris from ending up in runoff, which should be only water or nontoxic organic matter.

Re: Seattle-Area Salmon Are Loaded with Anti-Depressants and Other Drugs

#15
post #12
post #2

Too many garage bands.... In seriousness, curious about comparisons related to other areas...

It's happening in every body of water we dump our waste water in. Waste water treatment systems aren't designed to remove all the drugs we excrete. 80% of male fish in the Potomac are infertile from the exposure to birth control.

And many large municipalities, like DC, are still struggling to move away from combined sewer/stormwater systems, which leads to frequent discharges of untreated waste during loads over peak capacity.

Re: Seattle-Area Salmon Are Loaded with Anti-Depressants and Other Drugs

#17
No numbers in that piece. What is the technical definition of 'loaded'? Do they mean 'detectable'?

It seems curious that Seattle folks would worry about this anyway. They are the ones taking the pills in the first place! They're just going back for seconds after all.

Re: Seattle-Area Salmon Are Loaded with Anti-Depressants and Other Drugs

#18

No numbers in that piece. What is the technical definition of 'loaded'? Do they mean 'detectable'? It seems curious that Seattle folks would worry about this anyway. They are the ones taking the pills in the first place! They're just going back for seconds after all.

Not sure why the downvotes for you... "Measurable" doesn't mean "too much" and some parts-per-million vs. ambient would be really useful here for context. "XX,XXX pounds of chemicals" is alarmist and non-specific.

Maybe the snark isn't appreciated - folks are worried about consequences for the health of the fish, not secondary dosing.

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