[Pharmwaste] DEA Collection Correction

[Volkman, Jennifer (MPCA)]

When DEA does events here, they seem to be compelled to collect and destroy everything the same day as the collection event. Maybe that is a parameter they've decided to stick firmly to? As such, extending the hours any later doesn't work here, although I think an earlier start would be fine. They don't do much advertising and last time they did a press conference for the event, it wasn't covered by any of the news media as far as we could find, so adjusting the hours locally to be earlier would probably work out. Advertising may be different/better in your state, but they pretty much leave it to the locals here.
DEA sets the pickup/drop off locations and time for participating law enforcement. If you miss the handoff place and time, you don't get your pharm waste transport and disposal cost covered by them. If people here were interested in inventorying, they could, they just wouldn't get their costs covered, which may or may not be a big deal. It seems they could find a secure location to hold the stuff for a day to allow for inventorying and a larger window of time for law enforcement to bring in their waste. We have a brand new giant BCA building here in St. Paul...
Our DEA sent out a letter on Feb 6 to the MN's Sheriff's Association inviting participants. I received it from one of the county participants on Feb 7, so they forwarded it out right away. In this letter they listed an incinerator that they've used but isn't approved by the MPCA for disposal, further confusing the disposal issue that I've been chasing down and presenting workshops on for over a year.
Perhaps if you help them locate a secure storage facility (local evidence rooms aren't generally large enough) and whatever else you can do to make it easier, they'll agree to it. The data would be useful to DEA unless they are hoping that the percentage of controlled substances collected is more than the usual 5-10%. It is still significant at that level given they collected 377,096 total pounds at the Sept 2011 event last year.
From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us [mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Ed Gottlieb
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2012 12:48 PM
To: pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us
Subject: [Pharmwaste] DEA Collection Correction

Hi All,

On 1/21 (Vol 75, Issue 13) I reported that a DEA officer told me law enforcement agencies wouldn't be able to sign-up for the April 28th collection event until 6 or 7 weeks before the event.  That was not correct.  They can sign-up now.

My DEA regional office has not yet gotten back to me to about three questions I asked them.
1. Can we extending the hours of collection beyond the standard 10-2?
2. Can DEA arrange a pick-up a bit later in the afternoon so that we can complete an inventory of all controlled substances, and possibly a random selection of other medications?
3. Can other collection sites in our county deliver what was turned in to a central site for inventorying?

I'll let you know what they say when I hear.

Ed Gottlieb
Chair, Coalition for Safe Medication Disposal
Industrial Pretreatment Coordinator
Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment Facility
525 3rd Street
Ithaca, NY  14850
(607) 273-8381
fax: (607) 273-8433

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20120224/8a83960c/attachment.htm