Anti-depressant chemicals found in Niagara River fish brains
Digital Reporter
Monday, September 4, 2017, 9:15 PM - Scientists who discovered high-concentrations of anti-depressant drugs in the brains of fish in the Niagara River say that U.S. wastewater treatment facilities need to fill gaps in their filtering processes.
The study, lead by Diana Aga, PhD, at the University of Buffalo (UB), U.S., found human chemical compounds or their metabolized remnants in the brains of 10 fish species studies in the Great Lakes Region.
The Niagara River connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, flowing along the border of Ontario and the state of New York.
While Aga and her team studied amounts of pharmaceutical and personal care products in the river, they concluded that chemical compounds used for these medications were being overlooked for other substances.
"These plants are focused on removing nitrogen, phosphorous, and dissolved organic carbon but there are so many other chemicals that are not prioritized that impact our environment," Aga told University of Buffalo News Center.
The chemicals found in the fish are mainly used to produce selective serotonin uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), used in the production of commercial anti-depressants, such as Zoloft.
Humans who consume the fish will not be effected, reports confirm, but biodiversity in the river will certainly be negatively impacted.
UB PhD graduate Randolph Singh, a co-author on the study, said that while humans can safely eat these fish, degrading biodiversity in the river is a chief concern.
"These drugs could effect fish behaviour, Singh told the UB News Center. "We didn't look at behaviour [...], but other research teams have shown that anti-depressants can effect the feeding behaviour of the fish or their survival instincts. Some fish won't acknowledge the presence of predators as much."
Aga told UB News that the anti-depressants enter the water via human urine, and are generally neglected in the water treatment process, which focuses more so on solid waste and bacteria.
Source: The University of Buffalo
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