Study That Shows Pharmaceuticals Are Changing Fish Behavior Is Alarming, Says Bluewater

Stockholm, Sweden, November 22, 2019 – A new scientific study showing how fish behavior is being changed by pharmaceuticals entering water habitats after being incorrectly disposed of highlights the urgent need for research into the impact of such drugs on human health, says Bluewater, a world leader in water purification technologies and solutions.

“The findings are alarming as they add to growing evidence that exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals leaking into the natural environment can disrupt the functioning of hormones,” said Swedish environmental entrepreneur Bengt Rittri, founder and CEO of Bluewater (photo below).

The scientists behind the study at Monash University, one of Australia’s leading universities and ranks among the world’s top 100, spotlighted how psychoactive pollutants are changing the behavior and mood of wildlife. The research, published in the Biology Letters journal, focused on numerous pharmaceuticals such as the antidepressant Prozac.

An earlier Monash University study, published in 2018 in Nature Communications journal, found that multiple species were ingesting a diverse suite of pharmaceuticals in six separate creeks near Melbourne, including spiders living close to the water. One shock finding was that platypuses in some of the streams were consuming almost half a human daily dose of antidepressants every day.

In a 2019 White Paper entitled ‘The Global Plastic Calamity’, published together with Portugal’s Mirpuri Foundation, Bluewater reported on the impact of plastics on the human body and the disruption caused to human hormones by chemical contaminants in plastic. A key conclusion is that there appears to be a direct connection between the suspected impacts of plasticizers in human bloodstreams and rising infertility, early menses and menopause, obesity, and sexual dysfunction.

“The latest research findings from Monash University spotlight how wildlife and humans alike are at risk from ingesting the growing amount of chemical and other contaminants being found in the water we drink. We face the worst of outcomes if we don’t act to halt the toxic waste entering our water and food chains,” said Bengt Rittri.

Editor’s Note

There are over 85,000 chemicals that can mimic and disrupt human hormones, according to the Mirpuri Foundation. Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals, or EDC’s, are everywhere; in plastics, pharmaceutical drugs, dry cleaning chemicals, non-stick cookware, herbicides, pesticides, fragrances, and personal care products, to name just a few. Hormones are chemical messengers, released by glands that travel through the blood stream to target cells. They control every function in our body: blood pressure, heartbeat, blood sugar, fertility, immune function, our mood and emotions, our quality of sleep, our water content and our calcium levels.

For more information, please contact David Noble, PR & Communications Director, at david.noble@bluewatergroup.com or +44 7785 302 694.