Study: Aquifers safe from antibiotics
Date:
September, 2010 A study by university researchers in California has determined that most of the antibiotics administered to dairy cows never reach ground water.
Researchers at the University of California-Davis call it the first large study tracking the "wide range" of antibiotics given to dairy cows.
The researchers found that, while the antibiotics are routinely flushed from dairy floors and into manure lagoons, they mostly break down in upper layers of soil.
UC-Davis ground water researcher Thomas Harter said most antibiotics degrade in the first 12 inches of soil, although small amounts do enter ground water.