OREANDA-NEWS. GE’s most popular refrigerator water filter, MWF, now removes trace amounts of five pharmaceuticals including the active ingredients in antidepressants and birth control pills from drinking water and ice.* Almost two in 10 Americans’ drinking water tested positive for pharmaceuticals according to an Associated Press Survey.1. That’s a glass-half-empty statistic for a lot of people.

Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t regulate the presence of prescription and nonprescription drugs in the water supply. The long-term effects of regular, small doses of medicines that treat everything from infections to depression have not been researched. In March 2009, a Gallup poll found that Americans rank water pollution as their number one environmental concern.2.

“Consumers are more worried about their water than ever before, and at GE we are making meaningful water filtration improvements that bring peace of mind,” said John Nichols, marketing manager for water filtration products at GE Appliances. The latest technology found on the MWF water filter means consumers with both new and older GE refrigerators can change their filters for the most up-to-date filtering technology. GE is the first and only appliance manufacturer in the U.S. to offer refrigerator filters that remove trace amounts of five key pharmaceuticals in ice and water.

The advanced GE MWF filter is National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) Certified and removes 15 contaminants, such as lead, cysts, and mercury. In addition, it has also been tested by a third party to remove over 94 percent of five trace pharmaceuticals including:**

Ibuprofen: used for pain relief, fever reduction, and to reduce swelling
Atenolol: treats high blood pressure
Fluoxetine: prescribed for depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and bulimia
Progesterone: can be found in birth control pills or used as a fertility treatment
Trimethoprim: an antibiotic that treats urinary tract infections.