[Pharmwaste] Endocrine disruptors & "What to do withunusedmedicine" - FL research into pharm fate in landfills

John.L.Price at dep.state.fl.us John.L.Price at dep.state.fl.us
Fri Aug 25 17:05:59 EDT 2006


The Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection is sponsoring some research in
this area. See http://www.hinkleycenter.com/proposals.htm.  "Determination of
the Selected Pharmaceutical Compounds and Determination of their Fate in
Modern Lined Landfills" - Timothy Townsend, University of Florida. Townsend
is the PI, Steve Musson is the doctoral student lead researcher. The research
team will "stock" several lysimeters (6-10? meter high tubes in which typical
landfill parameters such as moisture content, temperature, etc. can be
monitored and in some cases controlled) with known quantities of 5 or so
common pharmaceuticals [to be selected using predetermined selection
criteria] mixed in with "regular" [typical FL composition] solid waste.
Leachate will be analyzed for the pharmaceuticals [and their metabolites?]
over time.

I think I got the basic plan right but contact Musson for details and
progress. This research is funded and just recently underway or scheduled to
begin shortly.  

John L. (Jack) Price
Environmental Manager
Hazardous Waste Management MS 4555
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Road
Tallahassee, FL  32399-2400
Phone:850.245.8751
Fax: 850.245.8811
john.l.price at dep.state.fl.us
www.dep.state.fl.us/waste
 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.

-----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: Friday, August 25, 2006 8:57 AM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Cc: Kent D Becher; dwkolpin at usgs.gov; daughton.christian at epamail.epa.gov;
wbattagl at usgs.gov
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Endocrine disruptors & "What to do with unusedmedicine"

Not that this office is an expert on the solid waste muni landfills'
(subtitle d) regs but, at least here in arkie holler, new landfills are
required to be "engineer designed and (daily) properly maintained".  Meaning
an impermeable bottom (packed clay, liners, etc) with a french drain
surrounding each (?) cell to collect any leachate.  After the day's ops are
finished, the cell being used has to be covered with an inch or so of packed
somewhat impermeable material so's to reduce any overnight rain from seeping
into it.

>From my experience, there's still an amount of leachate that's collected and
usually stored on site until vessels are full.  Where does most of that
leachate end up?  Usually trucked to the local city's sewer system or in a
few cases, used as "recirc" water back on top of closed cells to help
vegetation growth.  

Don't believe there's been a study to date (that I know of) that has analyzed
this leachate for any specific types of pharms but, epa's study back in the
late '90s with analysis of the "priority pollutants" [CWA section 307(a)(1) -
see 40 CFR 401.15 at 
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?&c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title40
/40tab_02.tpl
for list] might have an "indicator parameter (or 3)" in it that would flag
the presence of some our infamous endocrine disruptors (recognize any of
these that might be, Charlotte?).  Overall, epa's testing concluded what was
found (concentration-wise) from the many sites visited and leachate analyzed
showed it to be innocuous to a w.w. treatment plant's operations and
pretreatment standards were not promulgated.  

If there's some specific analytical methods (Dr's Daughton, Becher, Kolpin or
Battaglin?) out there (they don't have to be per epa's required 40 CFR 136
methods) that would verify the existence (or non-) of our "ghosts" that might
be entering the leachate, someone please advise and I'll ask some of our more
forward thinking pretreatment cities do some of these analysis on the
leachate they receive.

Allen Gilliam
ADEQ State pretreatment coordinator   



-----Original Message-----
From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Volkman,
Jennifer
Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2006 10:11 PM
To: gressitt; DeBiasi,Deborah; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] Article: "What to do with unused medicine"


Since pharmacies and most HHW programs in MN don't accept pharms, we
recommend trashing vs. flushing.  About 1/3 of the meds will end up in SW
incinerators, the rest is landfilled.  Not the best option, but we feel it is
better than directly discharging to surface water since WWTP's don't remove
them.  Our fact sheet also tells people to check back for the latest advice.

We need this from the article below: "In 1997, British Columbia established
Post-Consumer Residual Stewardship through its Waste Management Act. The
Post-Consumer Pharmaceutical Stewardship Association was formed in 2000 to
administer the Medications Return Program."

-----Original Message-----
From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of gressitt
Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 6:45 PM
To: 'DeBiasi,Deborah'; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] Article: "What to do with unused medicine"


 Great article, has anyone else heard that "EPA supports disposal in
landfills?" I can't believe it but about 2 different sources have now
mentioned that "EPA supports landfill." I do not believe it at a personal,
professional, or research based level. Can anyone clarify this? 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
DeBiasi,Deborah
Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 11:52 AM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Article: "What to do with unused medicine"

Consumer confusion...

http://www.goedwardsville.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17056050&BRD=2291&PAG=461
&dept_id=473648&rfi=6


08/15/2006
 
What to do with unused medicine 
 
Norma Mendoza , nmendoza at edwpub.net  

The answer isn't as simple as you might think After throwing out all of the
food in the refrigerator and freezer that sat without power for six days, I
guess I was in the disposal mode and sought to also get rid of some unused
and expired medications. 
 

I plead guilty to having flushed some down the tube before I heard that the
Environmental Protection Agency frowns on this method of disposing of
prescription drugs. 


Several of the leftovers were caused by a change in medication before they
were completely consumed. So, I gathered up about five bottles of left-over
pills and capsules and took them with me when I went to the pharmacy to pick
up a prescription refill. 


"Do you take unused drugs to dispose of them safely?" was the query to the
pharmacy technician. He said he'd check with the pharmacist and came back
with the advice to flush them down the toilet. 


This turned out to be the advice I would get from several sources and yet the
EPA warns us not to do this. According to the EPA: 


"If your throw your pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) down
the drain or flush them down the toilet, and if your home is connected to a
municipal sewage system, some of the PPCPs would typically be discharged into
lakes, rivers, or oceans, because most waste water treatment plants are not
designed to remove or destroy PPCPs from waste water." 


Most septic systems don't destroy the PPCPs either. On the contrary, they may
destroy the bacteria in the septic system that aid in breaking down the waste
in the household waste water. These helpful bacteria are also a component
used in sewage treatment plants to break down waste. 


An Internet search produced an article from the Harvard Heart Letter that
warns against keeping unused medications because not only will you increase
your chances of taking the wrong one, you could be taking an old one that has
lost its potency. 


But, where do they end up when you get rid of them? 


"Scientists are finding everything from aspirin to Zoloft in our streams,
rivers, and lakes," the article states. 


The article states that neither flushing or trashing the old medications is a
good method for disposal. It warns that children or animals could get into
drugs that are simply tossed into the trash and once they reach the landfill
they can trickle down into the ground water. 


Harvard also backs up the advice of the EPA not to flush old meds. 


So, what do we do with these drugs? It is unlawful for pharmacies to take
them back for redistribution. It is even unlawful to give them to an agency
that could use them for its uninsured patients. It is also unlawful to pass
them on to family members or friends, although this happens all too often. 


Toni Corona, public health administrator for the Madison County Health
Department, said the county does not have a program for prescription drug
disposal. 


"The question has never been posed to me before," Corona said. "This is the
first time it has been brought to my attention." 


Corona did have some advice for a way to cut down on the amount of drugs to
be disposed. She said her first advice would be to complete the dosage
recommended by your physician. 


Not only would this eliminate the problem of leftover meds, but it could also
help prevent the development of germs that are resistant to antibiotics. When
the course of drug treatment is incomplete, the weaker germs are killed, but
the stronger ones survive and become even more resistant to antibiotics. 


There is great concern in the medical community that this may be the reason
for the development of a deadly strain of staph that threatens the health of
hospital patients and those with weakened immune systems. 


According to a report on the U.S. EPA Web site, studies have confirmed that
female hormones are in such abundance in our rivers and streams that the
aquatic life is being affected. They report a feminization of male fish found
in the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom and Japan. This is linked to
the exposure to both natural and synthetic estrogens and chemicals that mimic
estrogens in the water. 


According to U.S. EPA report, the majority of these endocrine-disrupting
chemicals are believed to reach the aquatic environments via the effluent
released into the streams and rivers by sewage treatment plants. 


Investigating the scarcity of fish in the Columbia River in Washington state
near the Oregon border, scientists found only female fish, or at least what
appeared to be female fish until their DNA was analyzed and many of them were
found to actually be males. 


The same phenomenon was observed in England and both sites were said to be
downstream from sewage treatment plants. Scientists have discovered that male
alligators are similarly affected in Lake Apopka, Fla., and they also found
many infertile male panthers. 


Dr. Leonard Sax said most of the chemicals under study did not exist before
1950. In his study, he found that many of them mimic the action of the female
sex hormones called estrogens. Sax said a similar process to that affecting
the aquatic animals and other wild life may also be affecting the human male.



He reports that there has been a steady decline in the sperm count of the
average American and European males over the last 50 years and today the
average is less than 50 percent what it was 40 years ago. 


Another concern, he reports, is that girls are beginning to go through
puberty at earlier and earlier ages. This is only happening to girls, not to
boys. 


Sax also speculates that so much extra estrogen could lead to breast cancer
in adult women. 


This is more serious than we thought at first. 


A query to the Illinois Department of Public Health brought a reply from
Marlena Bordson, chief of the Division of Foods, Drugs and Dairies. 


She said the state of Illinois does not require anyone to provide a safe way
to dispose of leftover or expired prescription drugs. One suggestion she made
is to take them to the Hazardous Household Waste (HHW) Collection sites.
Madison County sponsors such collections in the spring and fall. 


Bordson said the advice from the pharmacist to flush the drugs was the advice
that was given for years. But, she said this is no longer considered the best
option due to the concern expressed about it. Instead, the local HHW
collection site is the new method of choice for disposal. 


Bordson advised checking with other states which may have adopted disposal
programs. 


The state of Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) confirms
that there is a major concern about increased resistance of germs to
antibiotics and the disruption of endocrine systems by natural and synthetic
sex steroids. 


Michigan's DEQ also recommends the HHW method of disposal. 


In Boulder County, Colo., the U.S. Geological Survey performed a study that
confirmed that prescription and non-prescription drugs were not removed by
the water treatment plant. 


According to the Boulder Web site: "Flushing PPCPs down the toilet is
inconsistent with the 'First, do no harm' ethic for us or for the fish. Safe
disposal of PPCPs falls into the gray area for which society has not yet
developed a good enough solution." 






Boulder County suggests taking the unwanted drugs to a pharmacy for safe
disposal, but admits that not all pharmacies are able to accept them. 


A pharmacist in a Granite City Walgreens suggested a safer way to dispose of
them in the trash: fill the pill bottle with water to dissolve the medication
and render it useless, glue the lid on using Elmer's Glue or the like, then
dispose of the sealed container in the trash for waste disposal. Kitty litter
or flour can be added to liquid medications to render them useless. 


One expert warns that land fills can be polluted this way and the drugs can
pollute the ground water. But, Connie Letsky of the Collinsville office of
the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said land fills have leaching
systems in place that would intercept the drug leakage and return it for
water treatment. 


No matter which way you choose to dispose of them, It seems the onus is on
the person taking the medication or in the case of leftover meds, not taking
them. 


The Canadians have a much better solution. They put the onus on the
pharmaceutical companies that produced the drugs. 


In most of the Canadian provinces, there is a Medications Return Program
whereby people can take their outdated or unused medications to their local
pharmacy where they will be held for the pharmaceutical companies. 


In 1997, British Columbia established Post-Consumer Residual Stewardship
through its Waste Management Act. The Post-Consumer Pharmaceutical
Stewardship Association was formed in 2000 to administer the Medications
Return Program. 


In eight of Canada's provinces, consumers may return, at no charge, residual
prescription and over-the-counter medications, vitamin and mineral
supplements and natural health products. 


It is then up to the pharmaceutical and other manufacturers to dispose of the
excess in ways that are acceptable to the Waste Management Act standards or
find ways to safely recover the basic drugs for possible recycling. 


Until the United States or individual states are forward thinking enough to
adopt a program such as the one in Canada or England or Australia, remember
the advice "Don't flush" and check with your local public works department to
find out when the next HHW (Hazardous Household Waste) collection will take
place. 

 


Deborah L. DeBiasi
Email:   dldebiasi at deq.virginia.gov
WEB site address:  www.deq.virginia.gov
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality Office of Water Permit Programs
Industrial Pretreatment/Toxics Management Program
Mail:          P.O. Box 10009, Richmond, VA  23240-0009
Location:  629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA  23219
PH:  804-698-4028
FAX: 804-698-4032

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