[Pharmwaste] FW: Grants News Release (HQ): Report Released on Pharmaceutical Mail-back Pilot Program Funded by EPA

[Sue Dayton]

FYI - sue

 

Sue Dayton

Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League

North Carolina Healthy Communities Program

PO BOX 44

Saxapahaw, NC 27340

(336) 525-2003

sdayton at swcp.com

 

 

 

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
-  Martin Luther King Jr.

 

 

 

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From: U.S. EPA [mailto:usaepa at govdelivery.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2010 11:54 AM
To: sdayton at swcp.com
Subject: Grants News Release (HQ): Report Released on Pharmaceutical
Mail-back Pilot Program Funded by EPA

 

CONTACT: 
Enesta Jones 

jones.enesta at epa.gov 

202-564-7873     

202-564-4355 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

May 18, 2010 

 

 

Report Released on Pharmaceutical Mail-back Pilot Program Funded by EPA 

 

Agency provided $150,000 grant to University of Maine's Center on Aging to
undertake study 

 

WASHINGTON -Through a grant awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), the University of Maine's Center on Aging has completed the
first statewide mail-back pilot program for managing pharmaceutical waste
from consumers. Studies show that pharmaceuticals are present in our
nation's waterbodies and that certain drugs may cause ecological harm. EPA
is currently evaluating the potential risks associated with pharmaceuticals
and personal care products on public health and aquatic life. 

 

"This pilot is important because it has filled research gaps about the
volumes and types of medications that can end up in our waters, and affect
our ecosystems," said Peter S. Silva, assistant administrator for EPA's
Office of Water. "The pilot also gave residents a way to serve as
environmental stewards to reduce water pollution." 

 

The program included the use of mailers to return unused and unwanted
medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, from households. 

 

Maine Care (Maine's Medicaid program) established a limit for certain drugs
on the quantity that can be filled with an initial prescription. This policy
is targeted at reducing the supply and accumulation of unused medications
and to prevent pollution. The Maine legislature also recognized the value of
the take-back pilot and enacted legislation to continue the program for an
additional two years. As part of the EPA grant, the University of Maine's
Center on Aging  developed a handbook on the project and collected data on
the type and amount of unused medications. 

 

The grant is part of EPA's larger efforts to protect the health of older
adults and encourage older adults to engage in environmental stewardship in
their communities. Older adults were actively involved in the design and
implementation of the safe medicine disposal; for Maine pilot program. 

 

To view the executive summary of the report:
http://www.epa.gov/aging/RX-report-Exe-Sum/ 

 


R170 

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