Water tests found minute levels of drug residues, industrial chemicals, caffeine and the insect repellent DEET in a 128-mile stretch of the Hudson River, with the strongest concentrations near wastewater treatment plants, according to two Cornell University scientists quoted by WAMC radio in Albany, N.Y.
All 24 samples retrieved from the Hudson River tested positive for Atenolol, used to treat high blood pressure, and benzotriazole methyl-1H, an industrial chemical used as a corrosion inhibitor. In total, 83 different “micropollutants” were detected. The concentrations were so low — a few parts per trillion — that the amount of water contamination is still legal under the State’s Clean Water Act. Still, “the high number of micropollutants detected at sewage outfalls could be a cause for concern in communities downstream who rely on the river as their drinking water source,” a paper by the scientists said.
“These compounds at the level identified … don’t violate drinking water maximum contaminant levels under the Safe Drinking Water Act or state programs,” James Tierney, deputy commissioner for water resources with the State Department of Environmental Conservation, told WAMC. “But what they do is they provide evidence of impacts,” he said. Over time, scientists can try and understand whether the contaminants are affecting people, fish, or other aquatic species.
The state-funded project has spurred a partnership between Cornell University and New York’s Hudson River environmental non-profit group, Riverkeeper, which plans to continue taking samples for pollution studies.