[Pharmwaste] question on excretion vs. disposal quantities

Tue Aug 23 14:23:12 EDT 2011

I wanted to address Beth's questions so thanks for the reminder - feel free to add to this.

I recommend starting with the sections highlighted below in Christian Daughton's Sept. 2010 report, Drugs and the Environment: Stewardship & Sustainability (http://www.epa.gov/nerlesd1/bios/daughton/APM200-2010.pdf):

DISPOSAL: SCIENCE ISSUES & CONCERNS ..................................................................................................................................................... 17
(5) Evidence for drug disposal acting as a major origin of ambient aquatic residues of APIs does not exist, except for some select cases .......... 17
(6) Drug disposal may serve as the major source of APIs in landfills (even when not receiving biosolids)......................................................... 18
(7) Disposal to trash poses unknowns with regard to the environmental fate of APIs ..................................................................................... 19
(7) Disposal to trash poses unknowns with regard to the environmental fate of APIs ..................................................................................... 19
(8) Disposal to trash poses additional hazards ............................................................................................................................................... 19
(9) Concerns regarding individual privacy during disposal can increase the risks for poisoning or injury ......................................................... 19

UNDER-RECOGNIZED CONCERNS or DRUG-USE PRACTICES ......................................................................................................................... 19
(10) Graywater and septic systems are under-recognized potential problems with regard to drug disposal .................................................... 19
(11) Disposal of certain select delivery devices to sewers may serve as a major source of particular API residues in the environment ............. 20
(12) Pharmacokinetics, dosage form, and patient compliance are the main factors dictating whether disposal can be a significant contributor to ambient environmental levels of APIs ........................................................................................................................................................... 20
(13) Certain drug-use practices can essentially serve as indirect, unintended, hidden forms of disposal .......................................................... 20
(14) Biologics pose little concern with regard to disposal to sewers, but do pose some concern with regard to disposal to trash ..................... 21

Here are some other indications of how much you get from ag and hospital sources:

http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/science_and_impacts/impacts_industrial_agriculture/hogging-it-estimates-of.html
Livestock use accounts for the lion's share of the total quantity of antimicrobials used in the United States. Our estimates suggest that nontherapeutic livestock use accounts for 70 percent of total antimicrobial use. When all agricultural uses are considered, the share could be as high as 84 percent.

http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/pharmawater_site/sept14a.html
Few of the country's 5,700 hospitals and 45,000 long-term care homes keep data on the pharmaceutical waste they generate. Based on a small sample, though, the AP was able to project an annual national estimate of at least 250 million pounds of pharmaceuticals and contaminated packaging, with no way to separate out the drug volume.

Mr. Burke Lucy
Integrated Waste Management Specialist
Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle)
1001 I Street, PO Box 4025
Sacramento, CA 95812
Burke.Lucy at CalRecycle.ca.gov<mailto:Burke.Lucy at CalRecycle.ca.gov>
916.341.6592

From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us [mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Tenace, Laurie
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 8:15 AM
To: 'Davis, Marla'; pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: RE: [Pharmwaste] question on excretion vs. disposal quantities

BSchenk at saintpatrick.org<mailto:BSchenk at saintpatrick.org>

Sorry, I didn't put Beth's email address on the email I sent out last week.
Laurie
________________________________
From: Tenace, Laurie [mailto:Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us]<mailto:[mailto:Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 17, 2011 3:13 PM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us<mailto:pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us>
Subject: [Pharmwaste] question on excretion vs. disposal quantities

Please respond either to the whole list or to Beth personally, not to me - thanks, Laurie

Does anyone have good information on estimates of pharma pollution in our ground and surface water that is post-metabolic, or excreted and how much is waste generated?  Of the waste generated, the amount that is from pharmaceutical manufacturing, animal medications (feedlots and agriculture), healthcare facilities, and home disposal?

Thanks very much, Beth

Beth Schenk, MHI, RN
Facilitator of Women's Health
St. Patrick Hospital
Missoula, MT
406-329-2730

When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves...David Orr

________________________________
This message is intended for the sole use of the addressee, and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the addressee you are hereby notified that you may not use, copy, disclose, or distribute to anyone the message or any information contained in the message. If you have received this message in error, please immediately advise the sender by reply email and delete this message.

The Department of Environmental Protection values your feedback as a customer. DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. 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. Simply click on this link to the DEP Customer Survey<http://survey.dep.state.fl.us/?refemail=Laurie.Tenace@dep.state.fl.us>. Thank you in advance for completing the survey.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20110823/f01a7f31/attachment.htm