_A sex hormone was detected in San Francisco's drinking water.
Ironic...
Water providers rarely disclose results of pharmaceutical screenings, unless pressed, the AP found. For example, the head of a group representing major California suppliers said the public "doesn't know how to interpret the information" and might be unduly alarmed.
QFT
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Originally Posted by JamesB
This is another example of how good (pure) science becomes molested by the media.
The drugs detected in the water supply are within what is known as the "Horwitz" limit of detection. Long story short, the levels detected are within a special region of values what in most cases exceeds 50% probability due to the concentration levels alone. I'm not sure I can simplify the explanation too much without either taking too long, or over-simplifying the idea.
At the detected levels, there is no biological activity in humans. When doses are worked out, they are done on a mass-drug to mass(equiv)-subject basis. Ie. 1mg per 1kg body-weight. The values published are well below what any toxicologist will refer to as a dosage-response curve.
I'm only worried for phytoplankton and other extremely small organisms at the lowest trophic levels of the ecosystem.
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Thanks for posting this. It reminds of of the arsenic in the water scare BS from early 2001.