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Sewage

Antibiotics In The Environment

June 6, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Antibiotics make their way into the environment in many ways.  Sources of antibiotic pollution include the waste from large-scale animal farms and the wastewater from hospitals, municipalities, and antibiotic manufacturing.

A new study has discovered concentrations of antibiotics in some of the world’s rivers exceed safe levels by up to 300 times.  In the project, researchers looked for 14 commonly used antibiotics in rivers in 72 countries across six continents.  They found antibiotics at 65% of all the sites they examined. 

The antibiotic ciproflaxacin was the compound that most frequently exceeded safe levels, surpassing that threshold in 51 places. The antibiotic metronidazole exceeded safe levels by the biggest margin.  Concentrations of this antibiotic at one site in Bangladesh was 300 times greater than the safe level.  The most prevalent antibiotic was trimethoprim.  It was detected at 307 of the 711 sites. 

Some of the world’s most iconic rivers were sampled as a part of this study, including the Danube, Mekong, Seine, Thames, Tiber and Tigris. 

The project, which was led by the University of York, found that high-risk sites were often located near wastewater treatment systems, waste or sewage dumps, and in some areas of political unrest. 

Safe levels for antibiotics, which were recently established by the AMR Industry Alliance, range from 20,000 to 32,000 nanograms per liter depending on the compound. 

According to the research team, solutions to the problem of antibiotic contamination should include infrastructure investment, tighter regulation, and the remediation of already contaminated sites. 

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Antibiotics found in some of the world’s rivers exceed ‘safe’ levels, global study finds

Photo, posted October 7, 2013, courtesy of Nicola via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Hippo Waste And Fish

September 10, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/EW-09-10-18-Hippo-Pools.mp3

Agricultural and sewage pollution can cause low-oxygen conditions and fish kills in rivers. A new study published in Nature Communications reports that hippo waste can have a similar effect in Africa’s Mara River, which passes through the world renowned Maasai Mara National Reserve of Kenya and is home to more than 4,000 hippos.

[Read more…] about Hippo Waste And Fish

Wastewater Instead Of Dams

July 2, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/EW-07-02-18-Wastewater-Instead-of-Dams.mp3

The era of dam building is coming to an end in much of the developed world.  Dams are very expensive, environmentally harmful, and as the climate warms and droughts become more common, are not that reliable.

[Read more…] about Wastewater Instead Of Dams

Nitrogen Pollution

March 30, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/EW-03-30-18-Nitrogen-Pollution.mp3

Earth system scientists say that there are four major human-caused forces that threaten to cause irreversible and abrupt environmental upheaval:  climate change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and excess nitrogen.

[Read more…] about Nitrogen Pollution

Biodegradable Microbeads

July 20, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-20-17-Biodegradable-Microbeads.mp3

Microbeads are little spheres of plastic less than half a millimeter in diameter that are added to a variety of personal care and cleaning products such as cosmetics, sunscreens and fillers.  They give these products a desirable smooth texture.   However, they are so small that sewage filtration systems can’t remove them and they end up in rivers and oceans where they are ingested by birds, fish and other marine life.

[Read more…] about Biodegradable Microbeads

Whales In The Big Apple

July 12, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EW-07-12-17-Whales-in-the-Big-Apple.mp3

For the first time in a century, humpback whales have returned to the waters of New York harbor.   These are not rare sightings, either.  The whales are showing up in enough numbers that a company is taking tourists out into the harbor to see whales with a backdrop of Manhattan skyscrapers.

[Read more…] about Whales In The Big Apple

Threats To Coral Reefs

May 12, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/EW-05-12-17-Threats-to-Coral-Reefs.mp3

There has been much news recently about the growing bleaching events going on in the world’s coral reefs associated with ocean warming and acidification.  The massive damage to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is an ongoing tragedy.

[Read more…] about Threats To Coral Reefs

Lake Baikal

January 4, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/EW-01-04-17-Lake-Baikal.mp3

Lake Baikal is an ancient and massive body of freshwater found in the mountainous Russian region of Siberia.  Deep and voluminous, Lake Baikal holds 20% of the planet’s unfrozen freshwater.  And it’s often been described as the world’s cleanest and most pristine lake. 

[Read more…] about Lake Baikal

Restorative Ocean Farming

November 16, 2016 By WAMC WEB

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/EW-11-16-16-Restorative-Ocean-Farming.mp3

The conventional aquaculture industry has often been associated with many of the same problems that beset land-based agriculture:   creating sterile monocultures, fouling the environment with pesticides, antibiotics and organic pollutants, and spreading diseases.

[Read more…] about Restorative Ocean Farming

Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria In The Hudson

August 25, 2015 By EarthWise

Hudson River Bank

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/EW-08-25-15-Antibiotic-Resistant-Bacteria-Hudson.mp3

Combined sewer systems are designed to collect rainwater runoff, sewage, and industrial wastewater in the same pipe, and then transport the wastewater to a sewage treatment plant.  But during heavy rainfall events, wastewater treatment plants can get overwhelmed, forcing them to discharge untreated water into nearby water bodies. This intentional discharge of dirty water is known as C-S-Os – or combined sewer overflows.

[Read more…] about Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria In The Hudson

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