A study conducted at the behest of 60 million consumers and France-Libertés Foundation on several brands of mineral water found for some of the brands analyzed, the presence of pesticides and medicines.
Announced a March 25 2013 The presence of these molecules result does not however call into question the ability of these waters to be consumed, according to the authors of the study.
Among the substances found, there is in particular the presence of tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen used in treatment of breast cancer. This synthetic hormone was detected in very small quantities in the waters Roucous Mont Saint Yorre Salvetat, St. Armand (Du Clos Abbey) and Carrefour Discount (Celine Cristaline) ...
How is it that this hormone, prescribed to treat very specific conditions, can be found in such a large number of mineral water? In reality, it is likely that the presence of this cancer comes from human contamination of the natural environment in which the sources are located concerned beforehand so the bottling. Contamination made even easier because water wells are currently fully exploited, as revealed hydrologist John Square in an interview given to the world (read "Strong demand for bottled water can cause contamination "Le Monde)
And if many chemicals may be partially or completely removed by the purification of waste water treatment plants, it is not the case of tamoxifen. In a report published in 2009 by Ifremer entitled "Contamination of aquatic areas as pharmaceutical and cosmetic substances" [by sewage treatment plants] ".
This inability of wastewater treatment plants to remove a hormone such as tamoxifen has also been singled out by 2005, with the publication of a study entitled "The occurrence of selected pharmaceuticals in wastewater effluent and surface area of the waters lower Tyne catchment "by two British biochemists. In this study, these two scientists have discovered traces showed tamoxifen in the estuary of the Thames and the Tyne, with respective values of 928 and 755 nanograms / liter. A discovery that allowed them to conclude that the failure of the dedicated to wastewater treatment to eliminate the synthetic hormone installations.
