PATANCHERU, INDIA — Half of the pharmaceutical compounds detected in treated wastewater — coming from a plant here that processes effluent from 90 Indian pharmaceutical factories — were at the highest levels ever detected in the environment, the Associated Press (AP) reported on January 25.

At least one of the compounds — the antibiotic ciprofloxacin — measured in levels high enough to treat every person in a city of 90,000, the report said.

Researchers found in the treated wastewater a mix of 21 different active pharmaceutical ingredients used in generic drugs for treatment of hypertension, heart disease, chronic liver ailments, depression, gonorrhea, ulcers and other ailments.

They also discovered that 100 pounds a day of ciprofloxacin was detectable in treated wastewater discharging to a local stream. Joakim Larsson, an environmental scientist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, questioned this finding and sent samples to a second lab for independent analysis. That report came back with similarly record-high levels, the AP reported.

Wells near the stream provide drinking water for residents. According to one of Larsson’s studies, ciprofloxacin and the antihistamine cetirizine were found in the wells of six villages tested, but at measures “far below” a human dose, the AP reported.

The 90 Indian pharmaceutical factories produce drugs for much of the world, including the United States.

Last March, the AP reported that trace concentrations of pharmaceuticals had been found in drinking water provided to at least 46 million Americans. According to AP, the wastewater downstream from the Indian plants contained 150 times the highest levels detected in the United States.

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