Metformin, a drug for diabetes, is currently in every sample of drinking water worldwide. The concentration of Metformin in these samples are up to 50% above environmental safety standards. Metformin is the most widely prescribed drug in the world. It suppresses glucose production in the liver. Since we do not metabolize Metformin, it leaves the body unaltered, entering world wide water sources and oceans within 24 hours.

  To date, the Environmental Protection Agency does not regulate pharmaceuticals in our drinking water or environment. In Lake Michigan, alone, 32 pharmaceuticals and personal products were present in the water. Fourteen of these measured high to medium concentrations of risk to the environment. Metformin is present 3 kilometers from the shores. The sediment around Lake Michigan contains 30 of the 32 pharmaceuticals and personal care products found in the lake.

  Metformin and many other pharmaceuticals leave water treatment plants unchanged. They do not degrade over time. These drugs pollute all of our waterways, seawater, and drinking water. They are not easy to detect and are projected to increase 5% annually for at least 5 years.

  Some drugs degrade into more toxic compounds. Effexor degrades into a different anti-depressant, Pristiq.

  Currently, the E.P.A. lists 8 hormones and 1 antibiotic drugs as possibly making water unsafe in our environment. Metformin was not believed to be an endocrine disruptor. However, Rebecca Klaper, University of Wisconsin and Milwaukee, found male minnows exposed to Metformin develop female gonads, weigh less, and produce fewer offspring. Metformin is now considered by researchers to be 1 of the drugs that cause major ecological consequences that we cannot change.

            Source: The Scientist, Megan Scudellari, Drugging the Environment, August 2015.

                                     Judy Griffin PhD.                                                                                             

The E.P.A.has found that the 41% of tetracycline fed to livestock alone has resulted in a detrimental environmental accumulation in water supplies and soil. The global consequences are frightening because tetracycline drugs reduce mitochondrial function and cellular energy.Even small doses inhibit mitochondrial , nuclear protein expression and cellular respiration in plants and animals tested. Tetracycline uses gene expression control to reduce infectious processes. Unfortunately, it effects all cells causing developmental delays, reduced respiration and more stress on the cellular level.

Every organism relies on mitochondrial translation to produce energy. For example, there is more mitochondria in the guts than billions of good bacteria. Mitochondria is the catalyst that produces energy for all digestive  and bodily processes. The brain uses the most mitochondria. We do not normally produce more mitochondria to replace cells damaged by decreased oxygen intake and protein expression. The body requires this fuel to work efficiently, or at all. Taking prescription tetracycline can also damage mitochondria in the same way it hurts plants and animals. Amoxicillin, a penicillin derivative drug, did not damage mitochondria of plants and animals. To date, only tetracycline has performed poorly. So, alternatives are available.

There are organizations petitioning Congress to reduce and remove these harmful antibiotics from use with animals, farm and commercial. There appears to be alternative drugs that are not harmful to use when they are really needed. We need to contact our Congress folks and let them know our concerns. The next time you receive an email asking to join this cause, please consider signing. Your health depends on awareness and action about tetracycline usage.

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California, producing 90% of the U.S. strawberry crop, established stricter rules for chloropicrin. Chloropicrin is a toxic soil fumigant injected into the groun to kill insects. This is done before the strawberries are planted.

Chloropicrin is a dangerous fumigant, irritating the eyes and respiratory tract. California restricts the area and use of the crop to protect workers and nearby residents. The restrictions are more protective than the government.

The buffer zone is now 25 to 100 ft from residents. Application is limited to 40-60 acres daily. The larger numbers reflect tarp usage to limit drift.

Healthy environment activists are petitioning that chlorpicrin be phased out by 2020. They believe rural residents and school aged children, near the strawberry farms, continue to be adversely affected by chloropicrin fumigant.

Source: Chemical and Engineering News, January 26, 2015