If there was ever a clearer sign that we sure do love our
coffee, it's got to be this: A new study from Portland State
University has found elevated levels of caffeine at several
sites in Pacific waters, off the coast of Oregon. The
researchers speculate that, while wastewater treatment plants
are effective at removing caffeine, sewer overflows are still
flushing the contaminants out to sea. The study, which was led
by Zoe Rodriguez del Rey and Elise Granek, was the first to look
for caffeine pollution off the Oregon coast. They targeted
several areas near wastewater treatment plants, large population
centers, and rivers emptying near the ocean. They had expected
to find waste chemicals near the water treatment areas, but
their analysis revealed a different source. Writing in Headlight
Herald, Samantha Swindler explains more: In spring 2010,
Rodriguez del Rey and Granek collected and analyzed samples from
coastal locations and adjacent water bodies from Astoria to
Brookings. Of the coastal sampling sites, Cap