
Seattle-Area Salmon Are Loaded with Anti-Depressants and Other Drugs - walterbell
https://news.vice.com/article/seattle-area-salmon-are-loaded-with-anti-depressants-and-other-drugs-thanks-to-human-waste
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kldloadrootkit
Also, it's possible to drug test an entire city, perhaps to decide how to
budget and prepare for intervention and treatment programs.
[http://www.npr.org/2011/06/25/137420879/our-sewers-
ourselves...](http://www.npr.org/2011/06/25/137420879/our-sewers-ourselves-
what-waste-water-can-tell-us)

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OrwellianChild
This is the study referenced, but I don't have access:
[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749116...](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749116300884)

Anyone have an un-paid link?

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13of40
"In the past we've looked at PCP and DDT. Pharmaceuticals are the next
frontier."

I wasn't aware that PCP was so prevalent in the Seattle area.

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jtfairbank
In this case PCP = post consumer plastic. Think micro plastic particles from
ocean debris and trash washed off short.

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sjwright
And particularly worrisome are the little plastic beads that make your ex-
foliating shower scrub so pretty looking. They're also made of plastic, and
all of it goes down the sewer. In insane quantities.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbead](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbead)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_particle_water_polluti...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_particle_water_pollution)

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_delirium
Fwiw those are in the process of being phased out in the U.S. (as the
Wikipedia article notes). A ban on their use in rinse-off cosmetics (shampoos,
toothpaste, body washes, etc.) was passed in December 2015. But the phase-out
lasts through 2019. The unusually short and readable bill is here:
[https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-
bill/1321...](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-
bill/1321/text)

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rifung
Can someone clarify? When the article says "human waste" are they referring to
garbage or urine/feces?

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ilyaeck
The latter.

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lifeisstillgood
Just the Salmon? ;-)

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dovdov
"For some reason, I F*CKIN' LOVE THIS SALMON!" I would imagine consumers.

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JoeAltmaier
No numbers in that piece. What is the technical definition of 'loaded'? Do
they mean 'detectable'?

It seems curious that Seattle folks would worry about this anyway. They are
the ones taking the pills in the first place! They're just going back for
seconds after all.

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OrwellianChild
Not sure why the downvotes for you... "Measurable" doesn't mean "too much" and
some parts-per-million vs. ambient would be really useful here for context.
"XX,XXX pounds of chemicals" is alarmist and non-specific.

Maybe the snark isn't appreciated - folks are worried about consequences for
the health of the _fish_ , not secondary dosing.

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jmspring
Too many garage bands....

In seriousness, curious about comparisons related to other areas...

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zardo
It's happening in every body of water we dump our waste water in. Waste water
treatment systems aren't designed to remove all the drugs we excrete.

80% of male fish in the Potomac are infertile from the exposure to birth
control.

