Prozac Found in U.K. Drinking Water
Denizens of the British Isles have a reputation for being somewhat glum, but that may change soon: According to the U.K. Environment Agency, the antidepressant Prozac is building up in the nation’s rivers and groundwater, a situation it called a “potential concern.” In the decade leading to 2001, prescriptions for antidepressants in the U.K. rose from 9 million to 24 million a year. While the government’s Drinking Water Inspectorate — which does not specify limits for pharmaceutical residues in drinking water or test for them in water quality assessments — said that the drug was likely sufficiently watered-down to be harmless, Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Norman Baker decried what he called “a case of hidden mass medication.” Said one U.K. enviro, “I know I should be outraged about this, but really I just feel kind of mellow and upbeat.” Okay, we totally made that up. But the whole Prozac-in-the-water thing — that’s true.
