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Pharmaceuticals in Our Rivers & Streams


Join Cary President Joshua Ginsberg for a virtual Cary Science Conversation with freshwater ecologist Emma Rosi. Hear about her latest research on how pharmaceutical and personal care product pollution impacts the health of our rivers and streams.  

With every flush and shower, pharmaceuticals and personal care products go down the drain. Many are not filtered out by wastewater treatment, leaving streams and rivers awash in everything from painkillers and antidepressants to amphetamines and illicit drugs.  

In freshwaters, these biologically active chemicals can have reverberating effects. Of particular concern: what happens when animals are dosed with a combination of chemicals, and how do these pharmaceutical ‘cocktails’ impact ecosystems.  

Emma Rosi’s research seeks answers to questions like: How do pharmaceuticals change the way streams function? What pathways release drugs into freshwaters and how do they move from streams to animals on the land? And how do drugs interact with other pollutants like microplastics?  

Discover what happens when animals like trout and platypus are exposed to drugs in streams. And learn how Emma Rosi and her team are working to understand big picture impacts, including what we can do to stem the tide of pharmaceuticals and protect rivers and streams globally. 

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