POTOMAC WATER WATCH
POTOMAC WATER WATCH
Improving Your Water. Improving Your Health
What is happening?
Our fish are dying. Many have a condition called intersex. Many have sores. Our rivers, our drinking water, our
bodies are polluted.
Where?
The Potomac --including the drinking water for Washington DC -- the South Branch, the Cacapon River, Sleepy
Creek, and the Shenandoah.
Why?
It's complicated! We know its pollution but still don't know what emerging contaminants and endocrine
disrupters (EDCs) are causes.
Are you at risk?
Maybe!
Most septic systems, municipal drinking water plants and bottling plants don't
filter out personal care products, herbicides, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, antibiotic hand cleaner.
Many contain EDCs such as hormones
that can cause cancer and disrupt the body.
What you do
Don't flush away, dump down the sink old or unused medications.
Maintain a significant
buffer strip along waterways.
Work to improve home/community septic and sewage systems.
Work to get new product standards -- products
without contaminants.
Potomac Water Watch
"CONSUMER DRUG
RETURN
PROGRAM"
Don't dump pills
down the toilet
or down the drain.
Return unwanted, expired, or unused
medications to these collection sites, by WV city.
Baker,
EA Hawse
Medical Center
Berkeley Springs, Morgan County
Health Department
Franklin,
The
Pill Box Pharmacy
Moorefield,
CVS Pharmacy
Romney
CVS & Reed's
Drug Stores
Peterburg
Judy's
Wardenville,
Wardensville
Pharmacy
-------------
If
there is no location
near you, mix pills in used kitty litter or coffee grounds, place in
a sealable container
and put in the trash
New
Brochure:
"Do You
Have a
Deadly Drain?"
FREE. Write to the address at left.
Comes out in
our drinking water!
DON'T POLLUTE OUR RIVERS
What goes down our drains
DRUGS HORMONES
SEWAGE Flame Retardants
PESTICIDES SEPTAGE
Soaps Shampoos Creams
SLUDGE ANTIBIOTICS
PILLS PILLS PILLS
American is swimming in pills -- literally -- and drinking them too.
THE FACTS -The average number of retail prescriptions
per capita in the US is 12.6 per year.
One study over 13 months disposed of 225 lbs of active perscriptions and estimated that ophaned
medications from deceased population at 19.7 tons.
One drug return program collected 2000 pounds of unwanted pharmaceuticals -
over 101,359 pills.
_____________________________________
CHEMICAL DISCOVERIES
2002 - USGS document that chemicals & pharma-ceuticals,
were found in 80% of US streams samped.
2004 - A West Virginia Study by USGS "Antibiotics were detected in municipal wastewater,
aquaculture -- greatest concentration in municipal efffluent.
2008 - Associated Press (AP) probe found a vast array of pharmaceuticals"
in drinking water supplies of 41 million Americans. Antibiotics, anticonvulsants, mood stablizers and sex hormones.
June 2009 - NEW
USGS Study:Exposure to estrogen reduces production of immune-related proteins in fish. This suggest that endocrine disruptors,
may make fish more susceptible to disease providing new clues about intersex fish.
POTOMAC WATER WATCH
is a voluteer organization organized by three environmental groups:
Appalachian center for the Economy and
Environment,
West Virginia Rivers Coalition, and Friends of the Cacapon River
Web site Supported by Potomac Headwaters RC&D
HC 62
Box 88B Great Cacapon WV 25422 304/947-7590