Student Planner 2013-14 - Pinkerton Academy

however, their presence in drinkingwater, even at very low levels, raisesimportant questions for long-termpopulation health.Looking upstream: a neglectedpart of the solutionFor some, the solution to PPCPs indrinking water rests with improvedwater treatment systems. Whilesuch technologies are an importantelement to control the levels ofPPCPs in drinking water, they cannotbe the only strategy, for severalreasons. First, advanced treatmenttechnologies such as ozonation arecostly, and are therefore likely toremain inaccessible to most Canadianswho continue to rely on chlorine todisinfect their water. Second, eventhe best technologies are unable tocompletely remove all contaminants,and worse, as noted above theycan create additional by-products,seldom accounted for when assessingthe merits of such treatments.Ozonation of the anti-convulsantdrug carbamazepine, for instance,has been found to yield three newand previously unreported byproducts.Given that new PPCPs areconstantly becoming available in themarketplace, it becomes questionablewhether treatment technologies willbe able to keep pace.Rather, such “end of pipe”solutions should be coupledwith strategies for reducing theload of PPCPs entering into theenvironment in the first place.Taking a preventative or “upstream”approach recognizes that while therisks posed by such substances may...even the besttechnologiesare unable tocompletelyremove allcontaminants,and worse,they can createaddional byproductsnot be entirely known, it is better toerr on the side of caution. Moreover,many upstream steps could beimplemented immediately andrelatively cheaply, when compared tothe longer term investments requiredfor broad scale improvements todrinking water treatment plants.While many PPCPs serveessential, life-affirming ends, thereare also cases where the use of someproducts could be curtailed oreliminated altogether. One exampleis the proliferation of antibacterialproducts such as hand soaps, manyof which contain triclosan – asubstance now found widely in theenvironment, including in drinkingwater. Despite their popularity,the use of antibacterial productsfor regular hand washing is notrecommended by Health Canada, theCanadian Medical Association, or theCanadian Paediatric Society.And yet, current PPCP useand promotion trends point inthe opposite direction. Canadiansare consuming more and moredrugs each year. For their part,pharmaceutical companies aredelivering drugs in more aggressiveand ever inventive ways, often withspecific campaigns that target womenand exploit gender roles.Some upstream strategies toconsider might include:• Reducing pharmaceutical use bystrengthening the direct-to-consumeradvertising ban in Canada. At present,enforcement is woefully inadequate;• Stemming the tide ofpharmaceutical inputs to aquaticsystems by broadening consumerpharmaceutical take-back programs.Programs exist in a handful ofprovinces. More should follow suit;• Better education of consumers,including young people, patients,physicians and pharmacists aboutthe environmental consequencesof improper disposal and misuse ofPPCPs; and• Judiciously curbing the use andpromotion of some PPCPs.Clearly, practical and realisticsteps can be taken immediately tocurb the release of PPCPs into theenvironment. A sex and gender basedanalysis reveals that attention to theimpact on women is a critical aspectin such efforts.Sharon Batt is a founding member ofBreast Cancer Action Montreal andauthor of Patient no More: The Politicsof Breast Cancer.NETWORK FALL/.WINTER 2010/2011 11