How drugs are entering UK water systems through urine

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Northerner

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As drugs - both legal and illegal - pass through us, they enter the UK's waterways. But can this really lead to a change in the feeding habits, and even the sex, of wildlife?

Most people go to a music festival for the music, the mud and the social scene. But at this year's Latitude festival Dr John Ramsey and Dr Bram Mizeres have come for the urine.

Bottling up the goods from festival urinals might not sound like cutting edge science, but it can provide a glimpse into our pharmaceutical lives.

The drugs that end up in our urine also make their way out into our waterways, with some startling effects.

Last year over a billion prescriptions were dispensed in the UK, along with a huge number of over-the-counter remedies. More medication is being taken than ever before and with an ageing population this trend is not likely to slow down any time soon.

But what is the fate of these drugs as they travel beyond our toilets?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29108330
 
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