FW: [Pharmwaste] Can someone in New Mexico comment on this please?

Wed Apr 28 17:05:22 EDT 2010

I received the response below from Judy Espinoza of the City of
Albuquerque with regards to how the city handled pharms from recent
take-back events.

I wasn't directly involved, but it is my understanding that several
state and local agencies were involved in deciding how to best handle
the drugs.  While incineration was the preferred option, some regulatory
snags prevented that from happening.  So the cementation option with
disposal at the local municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill was
implemented.

I've been monitoring the listserve for over a year now and get the
impression that the tenor of the pharmwaste community is that this is
not a good option.  While not a perfect solution, cementation and MSW
disposal is a good, cost-effective option, especially for small,
isolated, or financially-strapped communities.  Cementation is a tried
and true waste stabilization method that has been used in the hazardous
and radioactive waste management world for many years.  When done
properly, leaching of toxic and radioactive material is minimized.  And
since today's MSW landfills are lined and capped, infiltration of
precipitation is minimized further decreasing the amount of toxins that
escape into the environment.  Having procedures that require mixing
pharmwaste and cement in large batches and directly placing the waste in
the bottom of the landfill should minimize any concerns that "pharm
mining" at landfills would be a problem (a 55-gal drum of concrete
weighs 800-900 lb).

Art Vollmer
Compliance Program Manager
NMED Hazardous Waste Bureau
Phone: (505) 476-6004
P   Please consider the environment before printing.

________________________________

From: Espinoza, Judy A. [mailto:jespinoza at cabq.gov] 
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 12:37 PM
To: Vollmer, Art, NMENV; Holcomb, Sarah, NMENV
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] Can someone in New Mexico comment on this
please? 

Hi,

I'm not sure what the justifications are from the NM Board of Pharmacy
but the City of Albuquerque is currently using the cement slurry method
to get rid of large quantities of household pharmaceuticals. NM state
law is worded such that if a drug is NOT evidence then they can't be
incinerated so we are looking for a law enforcement exemption. If this
change is accomplished, then we'll be going with the incineration
because APD's incinerator meets all the Clean Air Act requirements and
is permitted. 

	NMAC 20.9.2.7.S (9)     "Solid waste" means any garbage, refuse,
sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or
air pollution control facility and other discarded material including
solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from
industrial, commercial, mining, construction, demolition and
agricultural operations and from community activities, but does not
include:

	(p)    materials, other than those that are regulated as
hazardous, toxic or special waste, that are retained as evidence in a
criminal proceeding and that are required to be destroyed or managed in
accordance with a court or administrative order.

	 proposed exemption 

	q.      pharmaceuticals, other than those that are regulated as
hazardous, toxic or special waste, that are collected by certified law
enforcement to prevent the misuse or abuse of those pharmaceuticals.

Does this help? 
Judy 

________________________________

From: Vollmer, Art, NMENV [mailto:art.vollmer at state.nm.us] 
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 8:39 AM
To: Holcomb, Sarah, NMENV; Espinoza, Judy A.
Subject: FW: [Pharmwaste] Can someone in New Mexico comment on this
please? 

Can either of you answer this?  I remember Albuquerque used the
cementation option for its pharm collection event after the use of the
APD incinerator was denied. But I don't know the specifics.

Art Vollmer
Compliance Program Manager
NMED Hazardous Waste Bureau
Phone: (505) 476-6004
P   Please consider the environment before printing.

________________________________

From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Gressitt,
Stevan
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 7:40 AM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Can someone in New Mexico comment on this please? 

I have just been made aware that in New Mexico the Board of Pharmacy
advised a take back to mix their drugs with Quikrete. IS there any
verification out there for this? Or justification other than the
famous....
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/medicalwaste/unwantpharm.pdf 

Stevan Gressitt, M.D., Medical Director

Office of Adult Mental Health Services

Department of Health and Human Services

Marquardt Building, 2nd Floor

11 State House Station

32 Blossom Lane

Augusta, ME  04333-0011

Ph: (207)287-4273

Fax: (207)287-1022

Cell Phone: (207) 441-0291

E-Mail : stevan.gressitt at maine.gov

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mh/

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