Document Story

Drugs in the water creating genderless and deformed frogs and possibly overmedicating the American people sounds like the intro to a dystopian thriller, but it may not be a fictional tale.

Researchers in Washington and across the country are finding traces of pharmaceuticals in much of the nation’s water supply. Concern is growing about the consequences and solutions to this unintentional medication of the environment and people.

Researchers use the term pharmaceuticals and personal care products (including cosmetics, lotions, shampoos etc.) or PPCPs to describe these chemicals.

Fish exposed to PPCPs have shown increased feminization and altered neurological behavior, Janis Gilbert, DOE public information officer, said in an email.

Deformities and decreased populations have also been noted in amphibians, said Patricia Maarhuis, WSU Alcohol Drug Counseling and Prevention Services coordinator.

So far, concentrations of PPCPs are too low to have an impact on humans. However, research is still incomplete, especially in the areas of drug interactions and impact on children. Skeptics like Maarhuis also point out that chemicals like DDT and nicotine were also originally considered harmless.

“There may be ways we are affected, and we just don’t know,” she said. “If we can avoid pollutants, it’s always good.”

The problem is certainly widespread, according to several local and national studies. A 2000 US Geological Survey study found compounds in 80 percent of system samples.

A DOE study in the northwest part of Washington found 16 compounds in the water including over-the-counter medicines, caffeine and hormones.

These products get into the water from sinks, showers, and incomplete absorption and excretion by humans. All of these sources come together at waste-water treatment plants. Waste-water treatment plants are not set up to remove PPCPs, and the technology to do so, while being researched, is not ready, said Gregory Zentner, Department of Ecology Water Quality Program supervisor.

“That is a level of waste-water treatment no one has achieved yet,” Attorney General Rob McKenna said.

For years, flushing kept unused prescription medication from being stolen out of trash cans or medicine cabinets, but with new environmental concerns, policymakers are looking for better solutions.

“We need to set up a drug disposal program so that people can dispose of drugs legally and safely, in a way that does not affect the environment,” said Sigrid Gauger, community mobilization and prevention coordinator.

Some programs are in place at pharmacies and police stations, and McKenna is working on a state-wide program.

“We want people to know there are safe ways of disposing where [the drugs] will not be stolen or in the water supply,” McKenna said.

These methods include mixing drugs with undesirable substances, he said. Sites such as McKenna’s, SMARxTDISPOSAL.net, the EPA’s and many others outline more steps.

“Of course, one of our main goals is to keep medications out of the water supply,” McKenna said.

When a drug return program is set up, the unused drugs will be incinerated, Gauger said. While it is unclear if incinerated drugs have an impact on the air, the risk is much smaller than drugs in the water supply, she said.

Drug-return programs and disposal steps, while certainly contributing to the prevention of environmental and abuse problems, are not end-all solutions. The majority of pharmaceuticals in the water supply come from human excretion, McKenna said.

Humans excrete up to 90 percent of the ingredients in pharmaceuticals, according to a DOE project document, “Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Wastewater Treatment Systems”.

With more Americans taking more medications each year, PPCPs in the environment and drinking water will become an increasingly significant problem, according to the same document. Both the DOE and EPA have several ongoing studies that will tease apart the relationship between PPCPs and the environment.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to our environment,” Maarhuis said.

**Ben, I emailed the other documents and my 499 story to your hotmail account, let me know if you don't receive them**

Questions

_How do you feel about advocacy journalism? Does it blur the line of traditional journalism? But could it be the future of journalism?
_Is it difficult to walk the line between commentary and unbiased reporting?
_Have you written stories that you wanted to present a certain way, include commentary or a bias on?
_What do see as the main purpose and responsibility of journalists?
_Have you ever encountered a story which had too great of risks to pursue?

Document Story Proposal

For my document story, I will be writing about pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) that research has found in ground and surface water systems. I am looking at the studies and monitoring reports that find these substances, research on the impacts of the chemicals on the environment and human health. I would also like experts to voice their opinion on the situation, possible impacts and the future. I will also include information on the future of this issue and what is being done to prevent problems.

Dec 1 Blog Update

Related Stories:
http://www.downtoearthnw.com/stories/2009/nov/25/avista-plans-to-show-off-smart-grid-in-pullman/ --11/25/09-- Avista plans to show off 'smart grid' in Pullman-- This is a story about the new power system Pullman is trying out as a test. This is related to my beat because it is very local and includes things that individuals can do to help the environment.

http://www.downtoearthnw.com/stories/2009/nov/26/sharing-sustainability-world-wide/ --11/26/09-- Sharing sustainability worldwide-- A story about a local architect that using sustainable design techniques. This is related to my beat because it is about one person making tangible differences in the way people live.

Story Idea:
-impacts Obama's commitments would have in Pullman

Online Story

In Spokane, environmental advocacy has blossomed in the past few years. This is due in part to the three-year-old blog Down to Earth Northwest started by the Spokesman Review, writers say. The blog has also grown with the community, and those involved believe this connection may shed light on the future of journalism.


“Online is where the future is going to be,” said Joe Butler, contact coordinator for the Spokesman Review marketing department.


The blog began when editors at the Spokesman noticed a lack of coverage of environmental issues and no forum for the disconnected pockets of environmental advocates, Butler said. Interns Paul Dillon and Bart Mihailovich took over the project.


Butler has seen a change in the green community and the type of news it wants, which might be reflected in journalism, he said. The trend has gone from big picture, intense, guilt-inducing news, to a desire for well-being, lifestyle and community focused environmental news. Down to Earth exemplifies this lighter news trend.


“No publication before [Down to Earth] was drawing these people in,” Dillon said. “Through Down to Earth, we were able to connect them. Those people definitely did not have that forum beforehand.”


Others see this community news trend reflected in the way the news is presented. Down to Earth has one foot in the door of traditional media and one in new and social media, Mihailovich said. It is a blending of the formal and informal journalism.


Originally, Down to Earth was a simple WordPress blog. As it gained momentum, a new form became necessary, and the current Web site was launched in January 2008, Dillon said. Now, Down to Earth also has Facebook and Twitter accounts.


The Web site picks up articles from the Spokesman Review, buys columns, and has blog pieces, Butler said. The site also features events, profiles, tips and some creative advertising features.


“Down to Earth has succeeded in being a giant cork board of stories and meetings,” Mihailovich said.


This blend of news, blogs and marketing is innovative, Mihailovich said. He said readers are astute enough to tease all the aspects apart, and this type of integration will probably be seen more in the media.


Megan Cooley, a blogger for Down to Earth, sees journalists pulled from the background to the foreground of reporting. Readers are interested in what the journalist thinks rather than just what she saw, she said.


“Objectivity has slipped out the window. That’s what people expect,” Dillon said. “The interesting thing about environmental journalism is it’s definitely advocacy journalism.”


So while it’s still tenuous, some are drawing a connection between new media, environmental news and the future of journalism. Community action is the trend in environmentalism. Some journalists, like Butler, think the future of news may also be local with niche sites like Down to Earth.


“Being local is the biggest thing we can do,” Cooley said. “If we can build community at home through new media, that’s good.”



Sources

Joe Butler 509-459-5059



Megan Cooley 509-326-6024



Paul Dillon 360-204-0510



Bart Mihailovich bartly7@gmail.com

The news of my trend story is...

More and more schools and districts across the country, including East Valley of Spokane, are revitalizing their menus to include more local and organic food.

Nov 10 Blog Update

Jim West Frontline Reponse

I think the biggest concern I have about this article I have is the manner in which the paper pursued it. The lead seemed so tentative to me, that I don't think I would have pursued the idea of him molesting boys, because it seems so unlikely. Even still, the paper has so little evidence that the mayor did that. This is definitely a case of baiting the mayor, which isn't right.

The argument that this story is about abuse of office is also too thin for me. There are a few instances of the mayor giving internships to people he had online relationships with, but not enough evidence that he is exchanging sexual favors for government positions. Jobs are often rewarded by who you know, especially internships. Again, I think the newspaper was baiting him and pushing him toward favors for jobs.

I am not trying to defend the actions of Jim West, I don't think he is the hero of this story, but for the evidence being so inconclusive and the impact on West being so dramatic, I don't think the paper should have pursued or published this story the way it did.