Gangnam style: the sewage of this district of Seoul reveals a high concentration of Viagra!

 Steph Deschamps / May 19, 2021

High concentrations of Viagra and erectile dysfunction drugs have been found in the wastewater of a Seoul neighborhood known for its nightlife, South Korean researchers said, expressing concern that the presence of these molecules in the water will increase in the future.

A study showed that the presence of this chemical compound -the phodiesterase type 5 enzyme inhibitor known as PDE5i- was high on weekends in the sewage treatment plants of Gangnam, a district with many bars and discotheques.

We estimate that PDE-5i consumption was 31% higher in this area than in areas with fewer nightlife establishments, the researchers explain in the paper published in Scientific Reports in May.

Researchers identified the presence of traces of the drug upstream and downstream of two water treatment plants in the capital, as well as in the stream collecting the water.

These investigations showed that water treatment plants were not able to handle the amount of chemical residues. PDE-5i in wastewater is barely treated by the plants and ultimately released into the environment, the researchers observe. Given the growth of the market, more PDE-5i is expected to end up in the environment in urban areas.

Other studies have estimated that nearly a quarter of South Koreans aged 30 to 39 suffer from erectile dysfunction. The top 20 South Korean pharmaceutical companies sold $133 million worth of drugs using PDE-5i in 2019.