Researchers at the Puget Sound Institute who analyzed the mussels said the discovery of pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs in harbors in the Seattle and Bremerton areas is not uncommon — but the organization noted this is the first time that opioids have been found in local shellfish.
Bay mussels in Washington’s Puget Sound have tested positive for trace amounts of oxycodone, providing more evidence that the opioid prescription medication is truly ubiquitous.
“We found antibiotics, we found antidepressants, chemotherapy drugs, heart medications and also oxycodone,” biologist Jennifer Lanksbury, who led the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife study, told K5 News.
Scientists determined that the slew of medications are passed into the Puget Sound through discharge from wastewater treatment plants.
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