[Pharmwaste] RE: Pharmwaste Digest, Vol 6, Issue 2

Andria Ventura aventura at cleanwater.org
Tue Apr 11 21:42:12 EDT 2006


Can anyone clarify something for me.  I understand that the mail-in program
in Maine,  has not been implemented yet, but if and when it is, will people
be able to mail in controlled substance prescriptions?  Seems to go against
DEA rules, but I hope they can.

-----Original Message-----
From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us]On Behalf Of
pharmwaste-request at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2006 4:36 AM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: Pharmwaste Digest, Vol 6, Issue 2


Send Pharmwaste mailing list submissions to
	pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us

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When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
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Today's Topics:

   1. RE: Pharmwaste Digest, Vol 6, Issue 1 (Andria Ventura)
   2. RE: Wash Post 3/27/06-Sewage Tested for Signs of Cocaine
      (Stevan Gressitt)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2006 13:55:41 -0700
From: "Andria Ventura" <aventura at cleanwater.org>
Subject: [Pharmwaste] RE: Pharmwaste Digest, Vol 6, Issue 1
To: <pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us>
Message-ID: <JKENIKGLGGDILOABPHNAEEFPCIAA.aventura at cleanwater.org>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="US-ASCII"

Isn't the oxygen depletion related to chemical use, including nitrates?

-----Original Message-----
From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us]On Behalf Of
pharmwaste-request at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Sent: Tuesday, April 04, 2006 12:05 PM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: Pharmwaste Digest, Vol 6, Issue 1


Send Pharmwaste mailing list submissions to
	pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us

To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
	http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pharmwaste
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
	pharmwaste-request at lists.dep.state.fl.us

You can reach the person managing the list at
	pharmwaste-owner at lists.dep.state.fl.us

When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of Pharmwaste digest..."


Today's Topics:

   1. Out of office (Diane.Maltby at co.hennepin.mn.us)
   2. Lack of oxygen can mean more male fish in seas' dead	zones
      (Tenace, Laurie)
   3. Wash Post 3/27/06-Sewage Tested for Signs of Cocaine
      (Pickrel.Jan at epamail.epa.gov)
   4. Effects of a Complex Mixture of Therapeutic Drugs at
      Environmental Levels on Human Embryonic Cells (Tenace, Laurie)
   5. RE: Wash Post 3/27/06-Sewage Tested for Signs of Cocaine
      (Gilliam, Allen)
   6. (no subject) (ilene.ruhoy at unlv.edu)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 09:02:48 -0600
From: Diane.Maltby at co.hennepin.mn.us
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Out of office
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Message-ID:

<OF7E4C3757.F5894EBC-ON86257141.0052A7B0-86257141.0052A7B0 at co.hennepin.mn.us
>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII


I will be out of the office starting  03/30/2006 and will not return until
03/31/2006.

I will respond to your message when I return.



------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 11:57:33 -0500
From: "Tenace, Laurie" <Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us>
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Lack of oxygen can mean more male fish in seas'
	dead	zones
To: <pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us>
Message-ID:
	<F3B05BF073E51740B024E311F9AAC73F01052D5E at tlhexsmb4.floridadep.net>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

So, we just remove oxygen from the water where endocrine disruptors are
skewing the gender balance toward females and we've got this thing licked! -
Laurie

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-329malefish,0,300015
3
.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

WASHINGTON -- Scientists call the growing oxygen-starved patches of world
waterways "dead zones." That also could describe the not-so-swinging mating
scene for some of the fish that live there.

For zebrafish, low oxygen levels in the water turn their habitat into the
equivalent of a freshwater locker room. When oxygen is reduced, newly born
male zebrafish outnumber females 3-to-1, and the precious few females have
testosterone levels about twice as high as normal, according to a scientific
study released Wednesday.

Earlier studies also have found reproductive problems for males in other
species in oxygen-starved waters. And though all the research is conducted
in
controlled laboratories, scientists say the gender bending is something that
could explain what they are seeing in the nearly 150 dead zones worldwide.

This could be a serious problem because with the expansion of dead zones --
such as the massive Gulf of Mexico area now the size of New Jersey -- fish
die, and those that don't die may not be able to keep the species alive,
scientists say.

Having too many males "is not a good strategy for survival," said Alan
Lewitus, who manages the dead zone program for National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.

The world's dead zones add up to about 100,000 square miles and most of
those
zones are man-made because of fertilizer and other farm run-off, said Robert
Diaz, a professor of marine sciences at the College of William and Mary.
More
than 30 dead zones are in U.S. waters and are part of key fisheries.

The stress of hypoxia -- the lack of oxygen in water -- tinkers with the
genes that help make male and female sex hormones, said study lead author
Rudolf Wu, director of the Centre for Coastal Pollution and Conservation at
the City University of Hong Kong. Wu's peer-reviewed study will appear in
the
May issue of the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Wu restricted the oxygen of zebrafish, which are freshwater aquarium fish,
but said similar changes are possible in other species of fresh and
saltwater
fish. Fish often change genders during their lives, but this is different,
he
said.

"Since development of sex organs is modulated by sex hormones, hypoxia may
therefore affect sex determination and development," Wu wrote in an e-mail
interview. "Hypoxia covers a very large area worldwide, many areas and
species may be affected in a similar way."

Wu and others said oxygen starvation may be a more powerful sex
hormone-altering problem than the chemical pollution that has gotten
widespread attention.

In the Gulf of Mexico, sexual development problems have been found with
shrimp and croakers, said Nancy Rabalais, executive director of the
Louisiana
Universities Marine Consortium.

The trend is worrisome, said Peter Thomas, professor of marine sciences at
the University of Texas.

"Hypoxia is emerging as a really important stressor, possibly of even
greater
significance than chemicals," Thomas said. "When it does act, it shuts
things
down completely."


Laurie J. Tenace
Environmental Specialist
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 4555
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400
PH: (850) 245-8759
FAX: (850) 245-8811
Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us

view our mercury web pages at:
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/mercury/default.htm

Please Note:  Florida has a very broad public records law.  Most written
communications to or from state officials regarding state business are
public
records available to the public and media upon request.  Your e-mail is
communications and may therefore be subject to public disclosure.







------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Mon, 03 Apr 2006 14:36:39 -0400
From: Pickrel.Jan at epamail.epa.gov
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Wash Post 3/27/06-Sewage Tested for Signs of
	Cocaine
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Message-ID:
	<OFC64039E2.DD915397-ON85257145.0065868B-85257145.00663B1B at epamail.epa.gov>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Here is the link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/26/AR2006032600
880.html

5 consecutive days of samples (from March 13-17, 2006) were taken from
the Noman Cole POTW in Fairfax County, VA, and tested for cocaine.
The sewage was analyzed for traces of benzoylecgonine, a urinary
metabolite of cocaine, by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in
Rockville, MD.

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~
Jan Pickrel
Water Permits Division, Industrial Branch
US Environmental Protection Agency
phone:  (202) 564-7904.
fax:  (202) 564-6431.
pickrel.jan at epa.gov



------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2006 15:36:02 -0400
From: "Tenace, Laurie" <Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us>
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Effects of a Complex Mixture of Therapeutic
	Drugs at	Environmental Levels on Human Embryonic Cells
To: <pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us>
Message-ID:
	<F3B05BF073E51740B024E311F9AAC73F01052D71 at tlhexsmb4.floridadep.net>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/esthag/2006/40/i07/abs/es051715a.ht
m
l
(Thanks to Cheri Grasso of King County WA for passing this on)

Environ. Sci. Technol., 40 (7), 2442 -2447, 2006. 10.1021/es051715a
S0013-936X(05)01715-3
Web Release Date: March 1, 2006

Copyright (c) 2006 American Chemical Society
Effects of a Complex Mixture of Therapeutic Drugs at Environmental Levels on
Human Embryonic Cells

Francesco Pomati,* Sara Castiglioni, Ettore Zuccato, Roberto Fanelli, Davide
Vigetti,# Carlo Rossetti, and Davide Calamari

Department of Biotechnology and Molecular Sciences, University of Insubria,
Varese 21100, Italy; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, "Mario
Negri" Institute for Pharmacological Research, Milan 20157, Italy; and
Department of Biomedical, Experimental and Clinical Sciences, University of
Insubria, Varese 21100, Italy

Abstract:

The potential risk associated with the presence of low levels of
pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments is currently under debate. In this
study we investigated the effects of 13 drugs merged to mimic both the
association and low concentration (ng/L) profiles detected in the
environment. The mixture comprised atenolol, bezafibrate, carbamazepine,
cyclophosphamide, ciprofloxacin, furosemide, hydrochlorothiazide, ibuprofen,
lincomycin, ofloxacin, ranitidine, salbutamol, and sulfamethoxazole. At
environmental exposure levels, the drug mix inhibited the growth of human
embryonic cells HEK293, with the highest effect observed as a 30% decrease
in
cell proliferation compared to controls. Pharmaceuticals activated
stress-response signaling protein kinases (ERK1/2), and induced overexpres
sion of glutathione-S-transferase P1 gene. No evidence was found for
apoptosis or necrosis in HEK293 cells, although morphological changes were
observed. The drug mixture effectively stimulated the expression of
cell-cycle progression-mediating genes p16 and p21, with a slight
accumulation of cells in the G2/M phase of the cell-cycle. Our results
suggest that a mixture of drugs at ng/L levels can inhibit cells
proliferation by affecting their physiology and morphology. This also
suggests that water-borne pharmaceuticals can be potential effectors on
aquatic life.


Laurie J. Tenace
Environmental Specialist
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 4555
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400
PH: (850) 245-8759
FAX: (850) 245-8811
Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us

view our mercury web pages at:
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/mercury/default.htm

Please Note:  Florida has a very broad public records law.  Most written
communications to or from state officials regarding state business are
public
records available to the public and media upon request.  Your e-mail is
communications and may therefore be subject to public disclosure.







------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2006 15:32:57 -0500
From: "Gilliam, Allen" <GILLIAM at adeq.state.ar.us>
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] Wash Post 3/27/06-Sewage Tested for Signs of
	Cocaine
To: <pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us>
Message-ID: <6F6E732380864947BFA28E290610DE1C05C4B625 at dpex02.adpce.ad>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Anyone want to hazard a guess what Gressitt's "consumer compliance rate"
is on this one???

-----Original Message-----
From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of
Pickrel.Jan at epamail.epa.gov
Sent: Monday, April 03, 2006 1:37 PM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Wash Post 3/27/06-Sewage Tested for Signs of
Cocaine


Here is the link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/26/AR200603
2600880.html

5 consecutive days of samples (from March 13-17, 2006) were taken from
the Noman Cole POTW in Fairfax County, VA, and tested for cocaine. The
sewage was analyzed for traces of benzoylecgonine, a urinary metabolite
of cocaine, by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Rockville, MD.

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~
Jan Pickrel
Water Permits Division, Industrial Branch
US Environmental Protection Agency
phone:  (202) 564-7904.
fax:  (202) 564-6431.
pickrel.jan at epa.gov

_______________________________________________
Pharmwaste mailing list
Pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pharmwaste


------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2006 12:04:17 -0700
From: ilene.ruhoy at unlv.edu
Subject: [Pharmwaste] (no subject)
To: "Tenace, Laurie" <Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us>
Cc: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Message-ID:
	<OF188D9777.6FC4AB7A-ON88257146.0068C369-88257146.0068C376 at unlv.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I am wondering if the following notice applies to pharmaceuticals. Exposure
and risk assessments to "multiple chemicals" should include drugs found in
the environment, considering what we know.



[Federal Register: March 31, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 62)]
[Notices]
[Page 16306-16307]
>From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31mr06-66]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8052-5; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2006-0223]


Considerations for Developing Alternative Health Risk Assessment
Approaches for Addressing Multiple Chemicals, Exposures and Effects;
External Review Draft

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of public comment period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: EPA is announcing a 45-day public comment period for the draft
document titled, ``Considerations for Developing Alternative Health
Risk Assessment Approaches for Addressing Multiple Chemicals, Exposures
and Effects'' (EPA/600/R-06/013A). The draft document was prepared by
the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's
Office of Research and Development.
    EPA is releasing this draft document solely for the purpose of pre-
dissemination peer review under applicable information quality
guidelines. This document has not been formally disseminated by EPA. It
does not represent and should not be construed to represent any Agency
policy or determination. EPA will consider any public comments
submitted in accordance with this notice when revising the document.

DATES: The 45-day public comment period begins March 31, 2006, and ends
May 15, 2006. Technical comments should be in writing and must be
received by EPA by May 15, 2006.

ADDRESSES: The draft document, ``Considerations for Developing
Alternative Health Risk Assessment Approaches for Addressing Multiple
Chemicals, Exposures and Effects,'' is available primarily via the
Internet on the NCEA home page under the Recent Additions and the Data
and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea.

    A limited number of paper copies are available from Ms. Donna
Tucker, Technical Information Manager, NCEA-Cincinnati; telephone: 513-
569-7257; facsimile: 513-569-7916; e-mail: tucker.donna at epa.gov. If you
are requesting a paper copy, please provide your name, your mailing
address, and the document title, ``Considerations for Developing
Alternative Health Risk Assessment Approaches for Addressing Multiple
Chemicals, Exposures and Effects,'' and its EPA publication number,
EPA/600/R-06/013A.
    Comments may be submitted electronically via http://www.regulations.gov
, by mail, by facsimile, or by hand delivery/

courier. Please follow the detailed instructions provided in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the public comment
period, contact the Office of Environmental Information Docket;
telephone: 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail:
ORD.Docket at epa.gov.

    For technical information, contact Linda K. Teuschler, NCEA-
Cincinnati; telephone: 513-569-7573; facsimile: 513-487-2539; or e-
mail: teuschler.linda at epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Information About the Document

    In EPA's 2003 ``Framework for Cumulative Risk Assessment,''
cumulative risk assessment is defined as the evaluation of risks from
exposures to multiple chemicals and other stressors, and having a
population focus rather than a source-to-receptor focus. Several
reports and environmental justice concerns published over the past 11
years have highlighted the importance of estimating cumulative risks.
EPA has published several guidance documents dealing with specific
aspects of cumulative risk, such as chemical mixture risk assessment,
planning and scoping, stakeholder involvement, and the toxicity from a
mixture of pesticides sharing a common mode of action. This draft
document is one contribution to EPA's efforts to address issues related
to cumulative health risk assessment.
    Existing EPA guidance addresses some of the combination aspects of
cumulative risk, but none addresses all of the multiples included in
this report, such as consideration of the composite impact of multiple
health effects. Among the distinctive new approaches are those for
grouping chemicals based on exposure characteristics and toxic
endpoints, multi-route combination of relative potency factors,
integration of categorical regression modeling of multiple effects with
additivity approaches, and the emphasis on the iteration and
collaboration between exposure assessment and dose-response assessment
to ensure compatible and relevant information. Major findings and
conclusions in this document are as follows:
     This draft report provides a set of approaches that deal
with certain complications in cumulative risk assessment, specifically
those caused by multiple chemicals, exposures and effects, including
toxicological interactions and environmental

[[Page 16307]]

transformations of mixture component chemicals.
     The scope is focused on the evaluation of health risks
from exposures to multiple chemicals, including multiple exposure
routes and times as well as multiple health endpoints.
     Areas of cumulative health risk assessment emphasized in
this report can often be performed with existing information.
     Exposure and toxicity characterizations of mixtures are
strongly dependent on mixture composition (chemicals and
concentrations) and timing of exposures and health effects.
     Qualitative and semiquantitative approaches provided can
simplify the number of potential combinations of chemicals, exposures,
and effects to make the cumulative health risk assessment more
feasible.

II. How to Submit Technical Comments to http://www.regulations.gov


    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2006-
0223 by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line

instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: ORD.Docket at epa.gov.
     Fax: 202-566-1753.
     Mail: Office of Environmental Information Docket (Mail
Code: 2822T), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460. The phone number is 202-566-1752;
facsimile: 202-566-1753.
     Hand Delivery: The Office of Environmental Information
(OEI) Docket in the EPA Headquarters Docket Center, Room B102, EPA West
Building, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket
Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the
Public Reading Room is 202-566-1744, and the telephone number for the
OEI Docket is 202-566-1752; facsimile: 202-566-1753; or e-mail:
ORD.Docket at epa.gov. Such deliveries are only accepted during the

Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be
made for deliveries of boxed information.
    If you provide comments in writing, please submit one unbound
original with pages numbered consecutively, and three copies of the
comments. For attachments, provide an index, number pages consecutively
with the comments, and submit an unbound original and three copies.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-
2006-0223. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included
in the public docket without change and may be made available online at
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information

provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through
http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The http://www.regulations.gov Web
site

is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of
your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without
going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be

automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you
submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name
and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any
disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to
technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA
may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid
the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of
any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm
.

    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
http://www.regulations.gov
 index. Although listed in the index, some

information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the OEI Docket in the

EPA Headquarters Docket Center.

    Dated: March 27, 2006.
Peter W. Preuss,
Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
 [FR Doc. E6-4746 Filed 3-30-06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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End of Pharmwaste Digest, Vol 6, Issue 1
****************************************



------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 07:35:23 -0400
From: "Stevan Gressitt" <gressitt at uninets.net>
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] Wash Post 3/27/06-Sewage Tested for Signs of
	Cocaine
To: "'Gilliam, Allen'" <GILLIAM at adeq.state.ar.us>,
	<pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us>
Message-ID: <000f01c658a5$075029a0$0400000a at your4105e587b6>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Allen, I'll rise to the bait. There should be two GCCR's calculated. One
should be what the medical community has estimated for cocaine abuse in the
watershed area ( will take some work to shift from county/town/zip
code/state areas of assessment to watershed based geographic assessment) and
the other that of law enforcement.

If we as physicians have been so sure all our patients have been taking our
prescriptions and as directed, then the CATIE report should humble us all.
Patient adherence, or consumer compliance rates for prescriptions are a
national disaster compared with some of the controlled ARV treatment
adherence reported in Africa. Not clean neat comparisons by any means,
different diseases, different infrastructures, but comparing best practices,
or best outcomes around the world, simply on prescription drug adherence, we
are headed in the wrong direction. Medicare Part D will contribute far more
to waste medicine than has been written about now as states are no longer in
the business of asking for rebates on unused portions of prescriptions and
the new Prescription Drug Programs have no such mandate, program, nor
apparent interest. The state of Maine will loose 1 million dollars a year
this way, and it will all be trash. The state has decreed that it is all to
be destroyed. I have heard flushing is the recommendation.

Prescription drug abuse has increasing numbers virtually in all studies in
the US, but environmental metabolites specific for drugs is not my area of
expertise and I haven't yet seen a chart that identifies unique human
metabolites for many drugs at all.

Bringing us to Cocaine. Most of the focus of law enforcement seems to me to
be focused on Opiates, Cocaine and Marijuana for interdiction and "market
disruption" efforts. So it is surprising that this effort to look for
cocaine has not been done long long ago. Perhaps when the results come in,
there will be more attention paid to one of the messages from Zucatto paper:
We need to do a better job. We need to get smarter about how we look for
drug abuse and it will be hard to argue against the numbers that are finally
presented. The only question is, how far off are our official estimates? And
what would the reason be for anyone to discount the data? The medical and
law enforcement communities will have to rethink their current data
collection efforts.

And perhaps we should include how much cocaine is collected by drug return
programs?

Actually Allen, I wonder if anyone will predict the numbers will be lower
than traditionally predicted?

Stevan Gressitt, M.D.
207-441-0291

-----Original Message-----
From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Gilliam,
Allen
Sent: Monday, April 03, 2006 4:33 PM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] Wash Post 3/27/06-Sewage Tested for Signs of
Cocaine

Anyone want to hazard a guess what Gressitt's "consumer compliance rate"
is on this one???

-----Original Message-----
From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of
Pickrel.Jan at epamail.epa.gov
Sent: Monday, April 03, 2006 1:37 PM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Wash Post 3/27/06-Sewage Tested for Signs of
Cocaine


Here is the link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/26/AR200603
2600880.html

5 consecutive days of samples (from March 13-17, 2006) were taken from
the Noman Cole POTW in Fairfax County, VA, and tested for cocaine. The
sewage was analyzed for traces of benzoylecgonine, a urinary metabolite
of cocaine, by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Rockville, MD.

~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~*^*~
Jan Pickrel
Water Permits Division, Industrial Branch
US Environmental Protection Agency
phone:  (202) 564-7904.
fax:  (202) 564-6431.
pickrel.jan at epa.gov

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