It is easy to focus on the immediate and intended benefits of prescribed drugs that improve an aspect of our lives. But we don’t often think about where the active ingredients go after they have helped us. For example, women can be prescribed the birth control pill for assorted reasons, and it does an excellent job of fulfilling its job. However, we don’t often think about where those artificial hormones go when we’re done with them. What if they resurface again in an unexpected way?
The synthetic estrogen (17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2)) used in birth control pills has been shown to negatively impact water ecosystems downstream of waste water treatment plants. In a study conducted by Karen Kidd from the University of New Brunswick has demonstrated that the unintentional addition of EE2 to Lake 260 in the Experimental Lakes Area has caused fish feminization in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). We have inadvertently negatively impacted a non-target species directly, and consequently, its entire ecosystem. …show more content…
It is important for women to have access to contraceptive methods, such as the birth control pill, for their own well-being and health. However, it is also extremely important to protect the species that live in the ecosystems around us. In this case, where EE2 cannot be withheld from women, improvements to municipal wastewater treatment plants and water purification procedures are essential.
Municipal waste water treatment plants have not removed sufficient EE2 from the water being released back into the lakes. Even very small concentrations (~5.0 ng/L) of this hormone induce feminization, so it is imperative for our water purification techniques to improve
The synthetic estrogen (17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2)) used in birth control pills has been shown to negatively impact water ecosystems downstream of waste water treatment plants. In a study conducted by Karen Kidd from the University of New Brunswick has demonstrated that the unintentional addition of EE2 to Lake 260 in the Experimental Lakes Area has caused fish feminization in fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). We have inadvertently negatively impacted a non-target species directly, and consequently, its entire ecosystem. …show more content…
It is important for women to have access to contraceptive methods, such as the birth control pill, for their own well-being and health. However, it is also extremely important to protect the species that live in the ecosystems around us. In this case, where EE2 cannot be withheld from women, improvements to municipal wastewater treatment plants and water purification procedures are essential.
Municipal waste water treatment plants have not removed sufficient EE2 from the water being released back into the lakes. Even very small concentrations (~5.0 ng/L) of this hormone induce feminization, so it is imperative for our water purification techniques to improve