Your caffeine fix may just be a swim away
Philippine beaches and watersheds were found to be heavily loaded with caffeine, paracetamol and other drugs
Daily TribunePhilippine beaches and watersheds were found to be heavily loaded with caffeine, paracetamol and other drugs
Filipino marine biologists have discovered that beaches and watersheds in the Philippines are heavily loaded with caffeine. If that's not a palpitating enough piece of news, add paracetamol to the mix.
Scientists from the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute and the University of Buffalo in New York have determined high levels of caffeine and paracetamol, as well as other drugs, in Philippine waters.
Samples tested were from Boracay Island, the Tubbataha Reefs Nature Park, Davao Gulf, Macalajar Bay in Cagayan de Oro City, and the beaches of Mabini in Batangas.
In tests dating back to 2019, the scientists found that caffeine was the most abundant drug in all of the samples taken, followed by acetaminophen, the active ingredient in paracetamol.
The samples were taken during the dry and rainy seasons in densely and less populated areas from canals, wells, drainage systems, beaches, coasts and diving sites.
Caffeine levels were highest during the dry season when many tourists visited those areas.
In Boracay, the samples were collected twice, during its closure in 2018 and when it reopened in 2019.
Boracay's highs, lows
Shyrill Mariano, UP MSI postgraduate student and lead author of the study, said they took samples in Boracay during its closure when few people were on the island.
"We had a chance to take samples during Boracay's closed season. That was the point when there were few people, so the concentration of contaminants detected were low, and when it reopened in April 2019, detections rose at the sites," Mariano said.
Although it naturally dilutes in water, caffeine has different lifespans. Studies show that it has a half-life of 100 to 240 days in seawater, which indicates that its amounts would be reduced by half within that time. Its half-life in riverine water is merely 1.5 days.
Paracetamol, on the other hand, has a half-life of 16 to 26 hours in rivers.
Need for treatment plants
Because of the "continuous input of untreated discharge," which allowed researchers to identify high amounts of caffeine despite the substance's short lifespan, the study highlighted the need for more water treatment plants in tourist destinations and locations near aquatic habitats.
According to previous studies, the human body metabolizes almost 100 percent of caffeine. Thus, directly disposing of coffee, soda, tea, and other caffeinated beverages may be the source of the caffeine in the water.
Mariano added that the caffeine came from untreated wastewater from households.
"As of now, our wastewater process connections are not that developed, so if you dispose of beverages in kitchen sinks, instead of undergoing wastewater treatment, it could flow to canals connected to rivers or coastal areas," Mariano said.