[Pharmwaste] Water district urges new habit: No Drugs Down the Drain - CA program article

[Tenace, Laurie]

Water district urges new habit: 'No Drugs Down the Drain'
By Kitty Dill (Contact) 
Monday, October 6, 2008 
 
Ventura County area residents are being asked to dump the habit of pouring
unused medications down the drain.

Whether it's prescription or non-prescription drugs and even personal care
products such as deodorant and hair dye, "we don't want you to flush them
down the drain any more because we're learning it's not a good thing for the
environment," said Jeff Reinhardt, public affairs and communications manager
for the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.

A statewide public information campaign this week calls for a new habit, "No
Drugs Down the Drain," contradicting what has been recommended for years,
that medications be flushed down the toilet.

The campaign is part of a nationwide effort to tell America that unused
pharmaceuticals are polluting the environment, Reinhardt said.

The city of Oxnard is involved in the awareness campaign as part of the
Southern California Coastal Water Research Coalition, Mark Pumford said.

"We are finding that endocrine-disrupting compounds are showing up in the
ocean. So we know that not all medicines are being removed in the water
treatment process," said Pumford, technical services manager for the Water
Resources Division of the city's public works department.

Drug sales have doubled in recent years, and "pharmaceutical waste has
emerged as a major issue for the environment," state officials say.

But controlling water pollution is only one part of the picture and "there is
still much we need to figure out," said Mark Lawler, general manager of the
Ventura Regional Sanitation District, which operates the Toland Road
Landfill. Lawler said his district doesn't own or operate any treatment
plants so how drugs are disposed of is up to the plant operators.

Still, the district is involved because throwing drugs into the trash without
preparing them in the recommended manner doesn't solve anything, either.

Since federal law limits who can handle certain prescriptions and controlled
substances, "it's an interesting problem. I don't know how it's going to be
resolved," Lawler said. 

State officials are saying the campaign is warranted since more sophisticated
technologies are detecting pharmaceutical compounds in the environment, and
research is showing that pharmaceuticals in waterways may be having a
negative impact on fish and other aquatic life.

"We can measure parts per trillion now" and know much more than decades ago,
Reinhardt said.

The "No Drugs Down the Drain" campaign makes three suggestions for disposal:
ask your pharmacy to take medications back, take them to a household
hazardous waste collection site, or crush them and mix with soil, put into
their original container with safety cap, tape shut, wrap and place in the
trash.

To learn more, visit http://www.NoDrugsDownTheDrain.org.

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




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.



The Department of Environmental 

Protection values your feedback as a customer. DEP Secretary Michael W. Sole is committed to continuously assessing and 

improving the level and quality of services provided to you. Please take a few minutes to comment on the quality of 

service you received. Copy the url below to a web browser to complete the DEP 

survey: http://survey.dep.state.fl.us/?refemail=Laurie.Tenace@dep.state.fl.us Thank you in advance for completing the survey.