Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) include ingredients in prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, veterinary drugs, and products used for cosmetic and health reasons. These can make their way into water sources through wastewater, agricultural runoff, septic tanks or landfills.
These items are not currently regulated in the United States; however, seven hormones were monitored under the third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 3). EPA has concluded that research has not demonstrated a measurable impact on human health from the quantities of hormones, medicines and personal care products that may be detected in drinking water.
Find out more about pharmaceuticals and personal care products from EPA and the AWWA.
Levels of medicines, hormones and personal care products can be reduced through advanced treatment technologies, like those at Tampa Bay Water’s surface water and desalination plants.
Our advanced treatment processes have the capability to address detected concentrations of medicines and personal care products in water. We use a multi-step process to treat water — it gets progressively cleaner with each step until it meets or is better than all federal, state and local regulations.
You can help prevent medicines from entering water sources by disposing of them properly.
