Water pollution "caused by drugs" concern

Trace amounts of pharmaceutical agents have been detected in the drinking water of several US cities, yet there is no federal policy for researching or dealing with the issue, according to a report by the Associated Press. In Philadelphia, 56 human and animal drug ingredients have been identified.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Assistant Administrator for Water, Benjamin Grumbles, told the AP that "our position is there needs to be more searching, more analysis."

However, the federal response is by no means united, with a spokesman from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stating that the issue "is not a priority." The Food and Drug Administration, which can reject a marketing application for a drug on environmental grounds, "has never rejected one on this basis," the report said.