On March 23, 2015, the American Chemical Society (ACS) held a press conference at their 249th National Meeting & Exposition to reveal disturbing new research findings regarding the use of chlorine in wastewater treatment.
Since the disposal of pharmaceuticals is not yet regulated, antibiotics currently enter our wastewater and unfortunately, re-enter our environment.
Researcher, Dr. Olya Keen, Phd, at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte remarked that these pharmaceuticals can “harm aquatic life, making them react slowly in the wild and [disrupt] their hormone systems.” She also stressed that an increased exposure to these antibiotics (even at minimal levels in the environment) can lead to the formation of antibiotic-resistant microbes and make antibiotics less capable of fighting bacterial infections in humans.
“Treated wastewater is one of the major sources of pharmaceuticals and antibiotics in the environment,” remarked Dr. Keen. “Wastewater treatment facilities were not designed to remove these drugs.”
Dr. Keen and her team of researchers recently discovered that chlorine, which is currently being used to remove harmful microbes (but not pharmaceuticals) from wastewater might actually contribute to the problem of antibiotic-resistance in the environment. By using chlorine to filter wastewater that contains antibiotics, it might actually help produce stronger, more resilient forms that “could turn out to be previously unidentified antibiotics.”
In their lab, Dr. Keen and her team exposed doxycycline, a common antibiotic, to chlorine in wastewater and discovered that the products formed were “even stronger antibiotics than doxycycline, the parent and starting compound”- antibiotics that have potentially never before been identified.
The release of these new stronger antibiotics into the environment encourages the creation of more complex and resilient microbes- ones that can infect animals and humans and do not respond well to antibiotic treatment.
This new research suggests that we need to re-evaluate the use of chlorine in treating wastewater and that new regulations be introduced to ensure the safe disposal of pharmaceuticals.
At the present time, reverse osmosis provides the highest and safest degree of filtration than any other system, but it too has it’s downfalls.
Environmental Working Group’s website explains reverse osmosis as a process that:
pushes water through a semi-permeable membrane that blocks particles larger than water molecules. Reverse osmosis can remove many contaminants not removed by activated carbon, including arsenic, fluoride, hexavalent chromium, nitrates and perchlorate. However, reverse osmosis does not remove chlorine, trihalomethanes or volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). Many reverse osmosis systems include an activated carbon component than can remove these other contaminants. Quality can vary tremendously in both the membrane system and the carbon filter typically used with it. Consumers should also be aware that reverse osmosis filters use 3-to-20 times more water than they produce. Because they waste quite a bit of water, they are best used for drinking and cooking water only.
Also, it should be noted that reverse osmosis removes vital minerals needed to maintain a healthy body. Using this filtration system would require that you reintroduce these important minerals back into the water before consumption.
Clinically diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 28, Pam chose an alternative approach to recovery. Now decades later and still symptom free, she coaches others on how to treat the root cause of chronic disease, using a holistic approach. She can teach you how, too.
Pam is the author of Become a Wellness Champion and founder of Live Disease Free. She is a wellness expert, coach and speaker.
The Live Disease Free Academy has helped hundreds of Wellness Champions in over 15 countries take charge of their health and experience profound improvements in their life.
