Report Prompts Hearing Into Drugs In Mass. Water Supply

BOSTON -- More than half of the state's drinking water supply could be a cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs and personal care products. NewsCenter 5's Sean Kelly reported on Tuesday that during an oversight hearing on Beacon Hill, experts told lawmakers they don't know how much the exposure is affecting our health.

"We should not be surprised we can measure these things and we shouldn't be afraid that we measure them, but we shouldn't be unafraid either," said Dr. James Shine of the Harvard School of Public Health.

Scientists in other parts of the country have already found male fish showing female traits because of increased hormone levels in the water.

"We want to take our medicine with a glass of water, not someone else's medication with a glass of water. We need to know what's in there," said Rep. Peter Koutoujian, Chairman of the Joint Committee on Public Health.

Only the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority has done enough testing to say itswater isn't contaminated.

Team 5 Investigates found the state has not tested up to 1,500 other water supplies.

"I think there needs to be a strategy to focus on those compounds that may pose the greatest risk of entering water supply and then trying to monitor for that," said Suzanne Condon of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Drugs and personal care products get flushed into the water supply every day. Despite unknown risks, the Department of Environmental Protection is sticking to its plan to recycle contaminated waste water back into rivers and ultimately some water supplies. "Our regulations actually increase the protection," said DEP Commissioner Laurie Burt.

Critics believe otherwise. "To have her sit up there and say we're doing everything we possibly can but then on the other hand make it easier for things like hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities which have way more pharmaceuticals to discharge very close to areas that are influenced by our wells, it just, it doesn't make sense," said Kyla Bennett, director of the New England Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.