Scientists warn of pharmaceutical peril for aquatic organisms in urban rivers

Date: August 20, 2015

Source: University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Summary:

Researchers studied areas along rural and urban parts of the Alafia River, in Hillsborough County, near Tampa, Florida. They found 17 pharmaceuticals. But they say these types of chemicals are not confined to the Alafia River or urban-area rivers in Florida.

Pharmaceuticals pose a danger to aquatic organisms in urban-area riverbeds, according to two UF/IFAS scientists. Post-doctoral Researcher Yun-Ya Yang studied samples collected from the silt in the Alafia River in Hillsborough County and found 17 pharmaceuticals, proving the riverbed to be a good sink for these chemicals. Gurpal Toor, an associate professor in soil and water science at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm, supervised the study. The scientists say the chemicals in the riverbed in Hillsborough County are representative of chemicals in riverbeds in urban areas globally.

Credit: UF/IFAS file

See more at:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150820095539.htm