Prozac on the loose?

The UK Environment Agency is asking manufacturers of the antidepressant fluoxetine to look at whether the chemical is finding its way into the environment and having an effect on wildlife.

Fluoxetine hydrochloride was first introduced in 1988 by Lilly and Company and marketed under the trade name 'Prozac'. Since the patent expired in 2000, the compound has been marketed in the UK by a number of other companies. Last year, doctors in the UK issued over 5 million prescriptions for fluoxetine – equating to around 4.1 tonnes of the compound.

Research suggests that once fluoxetine is in the environment it is not easily broken down. It can also be toxic to aquatic life at low concentrations. Up to now, however, because of the lack of effective analytical methods, there has been no monitoring for fluoxetine or its major breakdown product norfluoxetine in the UK environment.

The UK Environment Agency, however, is now doing work to develop and trial methods that will allow the levels of these chemicals in river water and sewage effluent to be measured.