hmm, I wonder if the sand method can help us here in the US. I read an article a while ago saying that we are polluting our water supply with medication (aspirin, antibiotics, and what not).

Artificial sweetener affecting ecosystem

June 24, 2011 – 4:31 pm By News Desk | Permalink | Print This Article |

Washington, June 24 (ANI): A research has shown that the artificial sweetener is making it through traditional water filtering systems.

The study’s authors, Arizona State University researchers Cesar Torres and Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, recently studied the path sucralose follows from humans to rivers and other bodies of water.

“Sucralose is a chlorinated sugar. Some of my work focuses on bioremediation of chlorinated organics,” said Krajmalnik-Brown in an ASU press release.

“I know that many are toxic and they are more difficult to biodegrade than the non-chlorinated counterparts. Because of this, I became interested in sucralose and its fate in the environment,” added Krajmalnik-Brown.

Samples of wastewater were taken from seven wastewater-processing plants in Arizona. For at least 48 days, the water was run through both anaerobic and aerobic biological batch reactors, systems designed to use natural processes to break down wastes. None of the samples showed a significant decrease in the amount of sucralose present.

Another set of experiments looked at the effects of chlorine, ozone, and ultraviolet light on the sucralose. Those three methods are used in the final stages of wastewater treatment, but none proved effective at breaking down sucralose.

The resilience of sucralose may be a good thing in some ways. The researchers note that its resistance to degradation keeps it from breaking down into highly toxic chlorinated compounds.

Sucralose could even be used to label water sources and trace wastewater as it flows into the environment.

The study has been published in Environmental Engineering Science. (ANI)