St. Lawrence River Suffers from Pharmaceutical Pollution Containing Medicinal Drugs, Threatening Aquatic Wildlife [Study]

St. Lawrence River has been found by scientists to be suffering from pharmaceutical pollution, containing toxic medicinal drugs and threatening aquatic life, according to a new study as of February 2024. Researchers involved in the study tracked down the pollution by collecting water samples from the Montreal City part of the river and its tributaries in Quebec, Canada.

Toxic substances such as caffeine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, and venlafaxine were detected not only in water samples from the river but also in collected sediments near a major wastewater effluent. The collection took place in several years along the stretch of the river and dozens of its tributary rivers, which contained significant levels of pharmaceutical compounds and chemicals.

Pharmaceutical Pollution

The new research paper was published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, where scientists from the University of Montreal in Canada tracked down pharmaceutical pollution in surface waters of St. Lawrence River. The research team conducted a reconnaissance survey from 2017 to 2021 and found 27 pharmaceuticals and metabolites in the river's watershed.

These toxic medicinal drugs pose a risk both the to health of the river and its inhabitant aquatic animals. The findings of the study also pointed out that the pharmaceuticals found in the river could cause an immediate risk for the aquatic organisms in the context of chronic exposure. The said pollution is caused by the elimination of pharmaceutical compounds by wastewater treatment plants.

North America Water Pollution

This is not the first time that the occurrence of river pollution or water pollution has been reported in North America, as revealed by the United States government in previous years.

In the US, surveys on national water quality conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2018 show that almost 50% of its rivers and streams and over 33.3% of the country's lakes are polluted. This makes them unfit for drinking, fishing, and swimming, as cited by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

St. Lawrence River

North America's St. Lawrence River drops 226 feet between Montreal and Lake Ontario, and it is approximately 800 miles (1,287 kilometers) long. It can be divided into three large sections, according to the Great Lakes Commission (GLC):

• Freshwater river, which extends from Lake Ontario to the outskirts of Quebec City
• St. Lawrence River estuary, which covers an area from Quebec to Anticosti Island
• Gulf of St. Lawrence, which is connected to the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean

St. Lawrence River remains a passageway for ocean vessels and contains a rich biodiversity of animal and plant species. It is a vital geographic and economic importance across the Great Lakes system, along with the Seaway, the GLC says. Following the February 2024 study, the St. Lawrence River system is at risk of being damaged ecologically due to the growing pharmaceutical pollution unless concrete action is taken.