Pharmaceuticals and Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in U.S. Drinking Water

The drinking water for more than 28 million people was screened for a diverse group of pharmaceuticals, potential endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), and other unregulated organic contaminants. Source water, finished drinking water, and distribution system (tap) water from 19 U.S. water utilities was analyzed for 51 compounds between 2006 and 2007. The 11 most frequently detected compounds were atenolol, atrazine, carbamazepine, estrone, gemfibrozil, meprobamate, naproxen, phenytoin, sulfamethoxazole, TCEP, and trimethoprim. Median concentrations of these compounds were less than 10 ng/L, except for sulfamethoxazole in source water (12 ng/L), TCEP in source water (120 ng/L), and atrazine in source,…

• AW
  American Water Works Association Research Foundation