The meat:
The highest concentration of a single compound was found in a rock bass, which had about 400 nanograms of norsertraline—a metabolite of sertraline, the active ingredient in Zoloft—per gram of brain tissue. This was in addition to a cocktail of other compounds found in the same fish, including citalopram, the active ingredient in Celexa, and norfluoxetine, a metabolite of the active ingredient in Prozac and Sarafem.
More than half of the fish brain samples had norsertraline levels of 100 nanograms per gram or higher. In addition, like the rock bass, many of the fish had a medley of antidepressant drugs and metabolites in their brains.
Evidence that antidepressants can change fish behavior generally comes from laboratory studies that expose the animals to higher concentrations of drugs than what is found in the Niagara River. But the findings of the new study are still worrisome: The antidepressants that Aga's team detected in fish brains had accumulated over time, often reaching concentrations that were several times higher than the levels in the river.
In the brains of smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, rock bass, white bass and walleye, sertraline was found at levels that were estimated to be 20 or more times higher than levels in river water. Levels of norsertraline, the drug's breakdown product, were even greater, reaching concentrations that were often hundreds of times higher than that found in the river.
Note that there's a biomagnification for these compounds -- the concentrations in tissue were higher than in the water.
While it's unknown what the effects are for these compounds at these levels, we do know that other pharmaceuticals have an effect.
When college is in session, water bodies near colleges see a sharp increase in estrogen levels, from all the birth-control use. These pass right through wastewater-treatment plants.
As a result of such contamination, in some water bodies, 90% or more of the fish hatching are female. What do we think it's doing to us, as we drink that water?
I know that it's Politically Incorrect in some "conservative" circles to be conservative and actually conserve our environment, but we really
are having an effect that is affecting us.
And I'm not in favor of just playing ostrich and pretending it doesn't exist just because it's inconvenient.
@Freya @Oceander
