Carbamazeinfo

Environmental Health Division
625 Robert St. N, P.O. Box 64975

St. Paul, MN 55164-0975
www.health.state.mn.us/eh
Carbamazepine in Drinking Water

Carbamazepine is a contaminant that has been found in waters that could be used as drinking water
sources in Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) developed a health-based guidance
value for carbamazepine in drinking water and, based on this value, does not expect levels in drinking
water to harm Minnesotans.
What is carbamazepine?
Carbamazepine is widely used to help people with epilepsy control
At a Glance
seizures. It is also used to treat bipolar and nerve disorders. Some
common trade/brand names for carbamazepine are Tegretol®, Carbamazepine is…
Carbatrol®, and Equetro®. • a prescription medication used to
control seizures.
How much carbamazepine is in Minnesota drinking water?
Carbamazepine has not been found in drinking water in Minnesota. Carbamazepine enters your body
However, there is limited study of levels in treated drinking water. from…
• taking it as medication.
Has carbamazepine been found in other waters in Minnesota?
In 2010, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) looked for a Your environmental impact can be
variety of pharmaceuticals, including carbamazepine, in surface water.1 reduced by….
• disposing of expired or unused
Treated wastewater and river water (up- and downstream from
wastewater discharge points) was sampled at 20 locations. medications properly.3
Carbamazepine was found in 96 percent of treated wastewater samples,
21 percent of upstream samples, and 79 percent of downstream samples. Carbamazepine in drinking water
Concentrations in surface water were found up to 0.4 parts per billion is safe if…
(ppb). Concentrations in treated wastewater were found up to 1.5 ppb. The level is lower than the MDH
guidance value of 40 ppb.
What is the MDH guidance value for carbamazepine in
drinking water?
Based on available information, MDH developed a guidance value of 40
ppb for carbamazepine in drinking water.2
How can I safely use products containing carbamazepine?

As a prescription drug, carbamazepine has many health benefits for
people taking it. Carefully read the prescribing information or package
inserts for information about potential side effects, contraindications, and
drug interactions when you pick up medicines from your pharmacy.
Discuss any concerns with your doctor or pharmacist.
August 2011
Carbamazepine in Drinking Water/English
Carbamazepine in Drinking Water – Page 2
Can carbamazepine in drinking water affect my health? The Contaminants of Emerging

Carbamazepine has not been found in drinking water in Minnesota. Concern (CEC) Program…
The amount found in river water samples (0.4 ppb) is about 100 times Evaluates health risks from
lower than the MDH guidance value of 40 ppb. If you drink water contaminants in drinking water.
containing up to 40 ppb carbamazepine for up to a lifetime there is little
to no health risk. References
1. MPCA. Wastewater Treatment
How does carbamazepine get into the environment? Plant Endocrine Disrupting
There are two main sources of carbamazepine to the environment. Chemical Monitoring Study.
February 2011.
When a person takes carbamazepine, up to nine percent of it passes http://archive.leg.state.mn.us/docs
out of the body (unchanged) in urine.4 This carbamazepine is flushed /2011/mandated/110339.pdf
down the toilet and mixes with wastewater. Another source in 2. www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/ri
sk/guidance/gw/carbamazepine.pd
wastewater is excess or expired medication that gets washed down f
the sink or flushed in the toilet. 3. www.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/li
ving-green/living-green-
How long does carbamazepine stay in the environment? citizen/household-hazardous-
waste/pharmaceutical-waste-
Carbamazepine is generally persistent in the environment. Typical disposing-of-unwanted-
wastewater treatment methods remove only some of the medications.html
carbamazepine. The remaining carbamazepine may be released to 4. FDA, 2009, Carbamazepine Fact
Sheet from Novartis.
surface water and possibly reach drinking water. If carbamazepine is
www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatf
released to soil, some will remain in the soil and some will go into da_docs/label/2009/016608s101,0
water. Carbamazepine does not collect in fish or in the food chain. 18281s048lbl.pdf
This means that it will not get into your body from eating fish.
More information on pharmecticuals
and personal care products in water is
What are the potential environmental impacts of
available from the US Environmental
carbamazepine? Protection Agency (EPA):
http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidan
Currently, the potential ecological impacts of carbamazepine are not ce/ppcp/index.cfm.
well understood.
For more information contact:

Drinking Water Contaminants of Emerging Concern Program
Phone: (651) 201-4899
Website: www.health.state.mn.us/cec August 2011
E-mail: [email protected] Carbamazepine in Drinking Water/English

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Environmental Health Division

625 Robert St. N, P.O. Box 64975

Carbamazepine in Drinking Water

How can I safely use products containing carbamazepine?

Can carbamazepine in drinking water affect my health? The Contaminants of Emerging

For more information contact:

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