[Pharmwaste] Feds not addressing drugs in water AP article

Mon Apr 14 11:20:37 EDT 2008

Can we really expect politician's to take on the pharmaceutical lobby?
They run a close second to oil, in their ability to run roughshod over
the American public. The word will have to be brought before the
American public time & time again before they rise & make it know that
this is an issue that will cause them to vote, or NOT VOTE for
politicians. Those whose concern for the unborn by way of abortion
should be educated regarding the harm being done to the unborn and the
environment via over prescribed medications and improper disposal of
unwanted medication.

Nancy Busen
City of Bentonville
Lab/Pretreatment Supervisor
1901 N.E. 'A' Street
Bentonville, AR 72712
479-271-3160
Fax: 479-271-3163

Protect Tomorrow, TODAY

-----Original Message-----
From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Tenace,
Laurie
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2008 8:06 AM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Feds not addressing drugs in water AP article

http://www.bnd.com/living/health/story/309255.html

Feds not addressing drugs in water
By MARTHA MENDOZA
AP National Writer

WASHINGTON --A White House task force that was supposed to devise a
federal plan to research the issue of pharmaceuticals in drinking water
has missed its deadline and failed to produce mandated reports and
recommendations for coordination among numerous federal agencies,
according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

More than 70 pages of the task force's documents, including e-mails and
weekly reports, were released under the Freedom of Information Act as a
Senate subcommittee prepares to convene a hearing Tuesday prompted by an
AP investigation about trace concentrations of drugs in America's
drinking water.

The working group on pharmaceuticals in the environment was formed two
years ago through the White House Office of Science and Technology
Policy. The panel has met several times for briefings and is aware of
public concern about pharmaceuticals in water supplies, according to the
documents.

In a weekly report dated March 24, 2006, then-task force coordinator
Kevin Geiss, wrote: "There has been considerable congressional interest
in this topic."

But it is impossible to track any possible progress by the group because
the White House has classified task force agendas and minutes as
internal documents, and therefore cannot be released, said spokeswoman
Kristin Scuderi. The group's annual report is in draft form and
therefore also cannot be released at this time, she added.

While providing some documents to the AP, Rachael Leonard, a White House
deputy general counsel, said "10 inches worth of documents" were not
being released.

The group's deadline to produce a national research strategy came and
went in December. Scuderi said the task force needs extra time to "serve
as an internal federal vehicle to further enhance interagency
collaboration."

The group includes representatives from nine federal agencies including
the Environmental Protection Agency, Agriculture Department and the Food
and Drug Administration.

The lack of public disclosure and failure of federal agencies to act on
the pharmaceutical issue is expected to be a focus at Tuesday's hearing
before a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public
Works. Among others, officials from the EPA and U.S. Geological Survey
are scheduled to testify.

The hearing could produce a showdown between committee members and EPA
officials.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who heads the committee, and Sen. Frank
Lautenberg, D-N.J., chairman of the Transportation, Safety,
Infrastructure Security and Water Quality Subcommittee, wrote to EPA
Administrator Stephen Johnson on March 18 asking what the agency plans
to do to address concerns about pharmaceuticals in water. The EPA had
not responded, a Senate staff member said Friday.

The hearing was prompted by a five-month-long inquiry by the AP National
Investigative Team that disclosed the presence of trace concentrations
of pharmaceuticals in the drinking water of at least 41 million
Americans.

The AP found that while water is screened for drugs by some suppliers,
they usually don't tell their customers of results showing the presence
of medications including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers
and sex hormones.

The series revealed how drugs - mostly the residue of medications taken
by people, excreted and flushed down the toilet - have gotten into the
water supplies of at least 24 major metropolitan areas, from Southern
California to Northern New Jersey. The stories also detail the growing
concerns among scientists that this pollution has adversely affected
wildlife, and may be threatening human health.

EPA officials responded with concern, pledging to organize additional
research and by saying people should be informed if drugs are detected
in their water supplies.

But Kyla Bennett, a lawyer and former EPA biologist, said the EPA "is
moving with all deliberate delay."

Bennett, who directs the New England branch of Public Employees for
Environmental Responsibility, said Congress first ordered the EPA to
address the issue 12 years ago.

"When it should be pressing forward, EPA is spinning in place, as if it
has overdosed on pharmaceuticals," she said.

Others say funding has been pulled and priorities shifted.

"The EPA has missed the boat in really addressing the serious
consequences of pharmaceutical disposal," said Anna Gilmore-Hall,
executive director of Healthcare Without Harm.

Hall's nonprofit now runs what was the EPA's Hospitals for a Healthy
Environment stewardship program, designed to reduce mercury use and
improve the environmental footprint of the health care industry.

The EPA cut the $200,000-per-year program in 2003 after five years,
despite widespread interest and involvement from hospitals, declining to
even sit on the nonprofit's board.

Clean Water Action's New Jersey campaign Director David Pringle, slated
to testify at the hearing, said he plans to tell the senators that
"while it's not time to panic, it's a time of concern and we need to
take action."

Pringle said existing regulations are not being used and that federal
officials have known for years there are problems. "They've clearly been
dragging their feet," he said.

Local hearings and public meetings have already been held in various
cities including New York. The Philadelphia City Council has a hearing
prompted by the AP series scheduled for Monday.

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 

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