[Pharmwaste] Flushed medicine showing up in lakes, fish - article from MI

[Tenace, Laurie]

http://www.mlive.com/news/chronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-11/117638910651290.x
ml&coll=8&thispage=1


Flushed medicine showing up in lakes, fish 
Thursday, April 12, 2007By Jeff Alexanderjalexander at muskegonchronicle.com 
Government officials and pharmacists are urging people to stop flushing
unused medications down the toilet, claiming drugs like Prozac and Ibuprofen
are showing up in surface waters, fish and other aquatic life. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and American Pharmacists Association have
launched a public education campaign -- SMARxT DISPOSAL -- to reduce the flow
of medications into the nation's sewer systems. 

A portion of the more than 3 billion prescriptions Americans fill each year
are flushed down toilets, or discarded in landfills; some of those compounds
end up in lakes and streams, according to federal officials. 

"Medications that are flushed down the toilet or thrown straight into the
garbage can and do find their way into our nation's waterways every day.
Those drugs are present in water that supports many species of fish and other
wildlife," said H. Dale Hall, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.


Recent studies in Michigan and elsewhere have found a variety of drugs --
including antidepressants, birth control compounds, heart medication, Tylenol
and caffeine -- in rivers where sewer systems discharge treated wastewater.
Those compounds have been found in the Grand River, near Grand Rapids, and
the Huron River, near Ann Arbor, a state official said. 

Scientists have found Prozac harming mussels in Ohio rivers and drugs
feminizing male fish in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. 

Researcher said they have only found tiny concentrations of medications in
surface waters in Michigan -- none were found in levels that would pose
health threats to humans. 

Scientists recently found drugs in surface waters downstream of sewage
treatment plants in Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor and Monroe. They also found
"extremely tiny" concentrations of Ibuprofen in treated drinking water in Ann
Arbor and Monroe, said Amy Perbeck, a toxicologist with the Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality. 

"I don't think any of us would think twice about taking an Advil (which
contains Ibuprofen) when we're in pain, but there's something wrong with it
being in the drinking water. It's not supposed to be there," Perbeck said. 

Federal officials and the American Pharmacists Association said the best ways
to dispose of medications are: 


* Crush pills or dissolve them in water, mix with kitty litter or sawdust,
place in a sealed plastic bag before putting the material in the garbage. Use
the same procedure for liquid medication. 

* If possible, take unused medications to a household hazardous waste
collection site; 

* Talk to your pharmacist. Some pharmacists can provide information on how to
dispose of unused medications. 

Government officials said some health care facilities -- hospitals, nursing
homes and Hospice facilities -- routinely flush unused medications down the
toilet or pour them down sinks after patients are discharged or die. 

It is not illegal in Michigan to flush drugs down sewers or sinks, but the
state recommends not doing it, DEQ officials said. 

Hackley Hospital does not flush any unused medications down the toilet or
sinks, spokeswoman Anita Varela said. She said a Milwaukee firm disposes of
all the hospital's unused medications. 

Harbor Hospice in Muskegon recently changed its policy and no longer flushes
drugs down the toilet, spokeswoman Susan McGarry said. Hospice officials mix
unused drugs with coffee grounds or kitty litter before disposing of them in
the garbage, she said. 

"We are no longer instructing families to flush medications down the toilet,"
McGarry said. 

Mercy General Health Partners flushes some medications used at its Muskegon
hospital down sinks and toilets. The hospital sends potentially toxic drugs
to waste disposal firms, spokeswoman Kelly Kurburski said. 

"Mercy General Health Partners complies with all state and federal
regulations regarding safe disposal of medications," said Shaun Philips,
Mercy General's pharmacy manager. 

Philips said individuals who are unsure of how to dispose of medications may
bring them to the hospital's Westshore Professional Pharmacy, 1150 E.
Sherman, for disposal. The pharmacy will properly dispose of the drugs free
of charge. 

Perbeck said researchers who recently conducted a state-funded study of
pharmaceuticals in rivers in Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor and Monroe found a
multitude of drugs in the water. 

"In general we found everything we looked for," Perbeck said. "Caffeine is by
far what is found in the highest concentrations." 

Rick Rediske, a professor of water resources at Grand Valley State
University's Annis Water Resources Institute, said the presence of caffeine
in surface waters shows that prescription drugs are not the only potentially
harmful drugs in surface waters. 

Rediske said chemicals found in an array of common products -- including hand
sanitizers, insect repellent and sunscreen -- are being found in surface
waters. He said some chemicals in those products can accumulate in fish
tissue and other aquatic life, while others contribute to the formation of
antibiotic resistant bacteria, so-called super bugs. 

"I would guess that most of the pharmaceuticals we're seeing in wastewater is
not from improper disposal but from people using these drugs, excreting them
(in urine and feces) and the drugs passing through wastewater treatment
systems," Rediske said

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 

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

Unwanted Medications web pages:
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/medications/default.htm




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