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08
04.07.10-04.13.10
THE BOHEMIAN
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Dr. Shane Snyder is a longtime researcher for the Southern Nevada Water Authority in Las Vegas who now is co-director of the University of Arizona’s Laboratory for Emerging Contaminants. “Our analytical capabilities allow us to detect almost any chemical that we can imagine, anywhere on the planet,� Sydner told the Santa Rosa Board of Public Utilities last week. “What really matters is how much we’re exposed to and [how that impacts] our health. “I don’t think the public’s concern about pharmaceuticals is unwarranted,� he said after the meeting. “Any time we hear about a bioactive substance that’s detected in water, we should be concerned. What I also promote is a better understanding of what these concentrations mean.� That’s exactly what worries Dr. Fred Corson, chairman of the Clean Water Coalition of Northern Sonoma County. “People talk about pharmaceuticals not being a concern in wastewater because their doses are so low and they’re extensively studied for toxicity� at the drugs’ prescribed doses, he says. Corson argues that there is a critical distinction to be made “between acute toxicity and chronic toxicity.� Cytotoxins and other pharmaceuticals “may well have chronic human health impacts at very, very low levels that haven’t been studied or evaluated yet,� he says. “There’s no doubt that these cancertreatment drugs are among the most toxic chemicals produced as human pharmaceuticals,� concurs Snyder. “However, in the limited studies I’ve seen, they haven’t been detected in water. Our team has looked for a subset of chemotherapy drugs, and we did not detect them. However, we’re not sure if we had the right ones or not.� That’s part of the problem, says Mulowney, noting that water regulators have identified about 200 potentially hazardous pharmaceuticals, cytotoxins among them. The issue is so critical that, for the first time ever, he says, the DEA and the EPA are working together to address it. “I’m not trying to scare people,� Mulowney insists. “I’d like to sugar-coat it, to tell you every scientist I’ve talked to has told me I’m crazy. They just shake their heads and go, ‘Yeah. You’re right.’�