Are our hormones and drugs leeching into the water supply?

Researchers from the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Water Quality and Treatment are holding an industry workshop in Melbourne today, giving an overview of recent studies on whether chemicals (such as human hormones and pharmaceuticals) are getting into Australian water supplies and creating possible health risks.

Called micropollutants because they generally present at extremely low concentrations, these biologically active chemicals get into wastewater largely through human activity.

Examples are endocrine-disrupting chemicals from natural estrogens, surfactants and pesticides, antibiotics excreted by humans or animals, or fragrances used in personal care products. Heavy metals in industrial effluent and disinfection by-products of chlorine used in water treatment can also affect biological systems.

Internationally, particularly where sewage recycling is more common, there is continual re-assessment of what constitutes safe micropollutant concentrations.

The CRC has been investigating some micropolluting chemicals to determine if they pose any risk to drinking water quality in Australia. The current debate of using recycled sewage water for drinking purposes to relieve the pressure of the drought has increased the timeliness of the research.

The results of the CRC studies indicate that the presence of micropollutants in environmental waters is very small. They also show that efficient sewage treatment can reduce the pollutants to very low concentrations.

The workshop will also be available on 23 October in Adelaide and 24 October in Perth.