Saturday, May 10, 2008

Tests: Water drinkable despite drug

From the Sun-Times:

City testing of Chicago's drinking water has turned up small amounts of a man-made drug and the insect repellent DEET, but officials said Friday that city water is safe to drink.

"Right now there is no research out there that shows there's any harmful health effect from the components we found at very low levels," said John Spatz, commissioner of the city's Water Management Department.

The city testing found a trace amount of the drug gemfibrozil, typically used to treat blood triglycerides, in both treated and untreated water. Carbamazepine, often prescribed to control seizures, was found in untreated water, Spatz said.

Spatz cautioned against drawing firm conclusions from a single set of tests, which found carbamazepine at a South Side water treatment plant but not at the plant next to Navy Pier. Continued monthly testing -- using multiple labs -- should begin to give a more accurate picture, Spatz said.

"Our water is safe to drink," Spatz said. "All the experts agree the water is safe to drink. This is an emerging issue and we will continue to follow it."

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