Researchers have made a disturbing discovery in fish pulled from Chicago-area waters.
Almost a year after testing done by the Chicago Tribune found small amounts of pharmaceuticals in Chicago's drinking water, the paper reported Thursday that researchers from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, found trace amounts of seven different pharmaceutical drugs in fish caught near the North Side Treatment Plant at Howard Street and McCormick Boulevard in Skokie.
Among the findings were prescription drugs used to treat depression, high blood pressure, seizures and other ailments.
The Baylor study highlights some unintended consequences of our medicated lives.
Little is known about the potential effects of drugs in the water on people and wildlife. But scientists and regulators increasingly are concerned about long-term exposure, even at very low levels.
Researchers also recorded similar results near sewage plants in Dallas, Orlando, suburban Philadelphia and Phoenix.
