Why did USGS conduct this study?
The goal of this USGS program activity is to provide information on
emerging water-quality issues. The primary objectives of this study
were (1) to develop and test new methods for measuring the levels in
water of pharmaceuticals and other compounds related to household, animal
production, and industrial wastewaters, and (2) to provide information
on the occurrence of these compounds in susceptible streams. This activity
supports the mission of the USGS, to assess the quantity and quality
of the Nation's waters.
Data collected by the USGS and others over the past decade has suggested
that a wide range of chemicals can enter the environment through wastewater
pathways. However, the capability to measure many of these chemicals
at low enough levels did not exist until recently. In the mid 1990's,
our European colleagues collected information that indicated that pharmaceuticals
not only could enter the environment but also could affect water resources
over large scales. This information identified the need to answer several
fundamental questions for a range of chemicals of emerging concern:
Are these chemicals present in our water resources, at what levels and
in what combinations? The results of this study can provide a basis
for the design of future monitoring and assessment activities, and for
establishing research priorities for studies of the fate and transport
of these chemicals, their ecological effects and their human health
effects.
