Sometimes Less is More....unfortunately

From Environmental Health News

Does 'the dose make the poison?'
Extensive results challenge a core assumption in toxicology

The "dose makes the poison" is a common adage in toxicology. It implies that larger doses have greater effects than smaller doses. That makes common sense and it is the core assumption underpinning all regulatory testing. When "the dose makes the poison," toxicologists can safely assume that high dose tests will reveal health problems that low dose exposures might cause. High dose tests are desirable because, the logic goes, they not only will reveal low dose effects, they will do so faster and with greater reliability. Greater reliability and speed also mean less cost.

The trouble is, some pollutants, drugs and natural substances don't adhere to this logic, as can be seen in the photograph above. Instead, they cause different effects at different levels, including impacts at low levels that do not occur at high doses. Sometimes the effects can even be precisely the opposite at high vs. low. Because all regulatory testing has been designed assuming that "the dose makes the poison," it is highly likely to have missed low dose effects, and led to health standards that are too weak. (read more)

Water treatment removes some toxins and some pharmaceutical residues, including hormones. But it doesn't get it all. Those 'small doses' are passed along through waterways impacting fish, frogs, and other wildlife, as well as the community downstream. Current water testing doesn't/can't measure the small doses......