What happens to medicine after you take it?
What are some common medicines or supplements that people take everyday?
Do our bodies use all of the medicine, vitamins, or supplements we ingest? How do we know?
What happens after unused medicine and metabolites leave the body?
What is a metabolite?
So, where does the waste from your toilet go?
1. Waste water treatment plant
2. Septic tank
Eventually, most of the water is released back into a water source or into the drinking water supply
How much goes into the environment? Why would it matter if some goes into the environment? What information do we need to find out about all this?
What exactly happens at a waste water treatment plant (wwtp)? Go with the flowGo with the flow!
Water is a VERY important resource! The amount of water on Earth remains constant, yet the population continues to increase As a result, almost all of the water we use has to be cleaned and returned to the environment or the drinking water supply!
Scientists have been discovering strange things in the environment…
Why are aquatic organisms at risk of increased exposure to drugs and chemicals found in the water?
Looking back at our list of common medicines and supplements, would you expect them to impact other organisms? How?
Example: How would caffeine affect an organism that isn’t usually exposed to caffeine?
Some of the chemicals that reach the environment negatively impact organisms. Some are endocrine disruptors.
Endocrine Disruptor A substance that interferes with the synthesis, secretion, transport, activity, or elimination of natural hormones.
What is the endocrine system? What does it do?
How do endocrine disruptors impact aquatic organisms?