Have you wondered why in recent years your favorite seafood restaurants have increased their prices astronomically, but the serving sizes of your choice fish has reduced? Aside from global inflation rates, there is a silent non-economic cause gradually looming in the background: the destruction of the habitat of aquatic animals due to pharmaceutical waste products! Wondering how this is correlated to your medications? Let me explain.
Many people dispose of their unused and expired medications by simply flushing them down their sewer. These wastewater sometimes ends up in nearby water bodies. The final chemical substances discarded by pharmaceutical industries, hospitals and even the disposal of excreta by the human species end up in water bodies. This contributes to the unbalancing of the aquatic environment in a harmful way. These medicines in aquatic environments can generate imbalances and alter the aquatic habitat on both microscopic and macroscopic levels. These changes inevitably can have a negative impact on humans who tend to rely on resources provided by aquatic life.
Now, focusing on the real deal, a study published in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety journal reports that there is an increase in intersex in some male fish. These male fish were found with eggs in their testes! A study back in 2006 by Gross-Sorokin et al. demonstrated the feminization of male fish was due to estrogen discharge from Hormonal medications into water resources.
Another worrying possibility is medication for psychiatric treatment, which, in high concentrations, can alter the behavior of aquatic animals in several ways, making them shy and non social. Dr. Bryan Brooks, a Professor of Environmental Science and Biomedical Science at Baylor University cautioned that Psychiatric medications which found their way into water bodies have an impact on the mating behavior, feeding rates, predator avoidance and migration in some fish. But of course, there's always someone doubting, saying, "Well, it's just fish, not us." It's because they want to see a clear cause and effect, something immediate. They don't realize that the hidden, long-term impacts are harder to see and prove, making it tougher to get people on board with making changes.
If you've stayed with us so far, allow us to go a little deeper. To help us understand the severity, let's bring a simple example. Once male fish start to demonstrate more feminine characteristics, their reproductive capability as males will decrease. Consequently, the number of fish for our consumption will decrease, affecting the price of the few that get to the food table. Now consider how these wastewater which might not be completely treated could be used in the irrigation of crops for human consumption. The health risk from the consumption of the wastewater irrigated crops was outlined by Pay Drechsel an Environmental Scientist and other co-authors in the book Wastewater, Economic Asset in an Urbanizing World. This included antibiotic resistant diseases. We have other pharmaceutical drugs: antipyretics, analgesics, and so on. That means that our problem is bigger than initially anticipated.
While concerns about pharmaceutical drug accumulation in water resources are valid, one might argue that the impact on aquatic life and subsequently on humans is not as immediate or severe as portrayed. Some might even argue that fish and aquatic life possess a remarkable capacity to adapt to changing environmental conditions, including exposure to pharmaceuticals. It's conceivable that over time, fish populations might evolve mechanisms to cope with the presence of these substances in their habitats. Natural selection has allowed species to adapt to various environmental stressors throughout evolution, and it's possible that aquatic organisms could develop resilience to pharmaceutical contaminants.
While this doesn't negate the need for responsible medication disposal and environmental protection, it does suggest that the ecosystem might have a certain level of self-regulation. It's crucial to strike a balance between environmental conservation and the practicalities of daily life, acknowledging that the issue is more nuanced and multifaceted.
The intrinsic relationship between humans and the environment is the essence of our existence. Sadly, if we get stuck in this never-ending debate, the real consequences might already be staring us in the face, and there's no going back.
What can we then do? You can return your unused or expired medications to drug take-back sites or neighborhood pharmacies, who will in turn properly dispose of them. For individuals without pharmacies or drug take-back sites within reach of their homes, the US Food and Drug Administration outlines some simple steps you can follow to properly dispose of unused or expired medication. You have to first mix these medications with an unappealing substance, such as cat litter or ground coffee, then you seal it in a container and drop it amongst household trash. For pharmaceutical companies, increasing the shelf life of medications can help reduce the large number of medications that go waste due to expiration. By our deliberate actions, we can all help provide an aquatic habitat free of pharmaceutical waste.