Sixty percent of Americans now take prescription drugs—more than ever before. This not only creates unprecedented problems for municipalities whose water filtration systems were developed before wide drug use—but for marine life.
Like canaries in the coal mine, the first signs of drug effects from the water often manifest in the fish. As early as 2003, scientists began finding egg cell precursors on male smallmouth bass testes which they attributed to endocrine disrupters found in food and personal care products including toothpaste. By 2014, an astounding 100 percent of male smallmouth bass in some polluted sites were “intersex”—male fish that produce eggs. The same intersex phenomenon has been widely reported with amphibians.
Like canaries in the coal mine, the first signs of drug effects from the water often manifest in the fish.
