How’s that fish tasting? Hopefully its delectably delicious, because what you are consuming along with your wild-caught Salmon could be any one of 81 different pharmaceutical drugs and personal care products. 

Yes, 81 drugs and some fecal matter were found in salmon from a common U.S. source.

Salmon caught in the Puget Sound near Seattle, WA contained Prozac, Advil, Benadryl, the cholesterol medication, Lipitor and even cocaine, as well as:

• Flonase
• Aleve
• Tylenol
• Paxil
• Valium
• Zoloft
• Tagamet
• OxyContin
• Darvon
• Nicotine
• Caffeine
• Fungicides
• Antiseptics
• Anticoagulants
• Antibiotics

The Seattle Times reports that the toxic chemicals in the salmon are believed to be so high because either people in the area use more of the drugs detected, or because waste water plants are unable to fully remove the chemicals during treatment.

Others suggest that the septic system is in such disrepair, that leaky septic tanks full of contaminated feces are leaking into streams and rivers. This theory is highly probable since high fecal coliform were also detected in the salmon.

Environmental toxicologist at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, Jim Meador said:

“The concentrations in effluent were higher than we expected. We analyzed samples for 150 compounds and we had 61 percent of them detected in effluent. So, we know these are going into the estuaries.”

The samples were gathered from juvenile chinook salmon and staghorn sculpin over a two-day period.

The study, found that chemicals were not only in the tissue of the fish but in the water as well.

The researchers also suggest that the true level of contamination of both the salmon and the water from which they were taken is underreported.

If samples were taken from deeper water or closer to outflow pipes, the results would likely be much worse.

Strangely, the researchers did not express any concern over the people who eat this fish, but just how the chemicals are affecting the wildlife.

The Puget Sound is among other bodies of water recently found to be grossly toxic. An EPA report from over 5 years ago detailed how most of America’s waterways are polluted, and yet, we’ve changed little about how we care for out water, and make sure that it is clean for both ourselves and the creatures who share that water with us.

If you want to know more about how polluted your tap water is – this can give you an idea of how much more polluted natural water bodies likely are. The Environmental Working Group has assembled a database that has analyzed over 30 million state water records.

Just enter your zip code, here, and find out how toxic the water is that you’re drinking – and just maybe – give up eating fish.