[Pharmwaste] Medicines, Cosmetics In Water Worry Scientists (MI)

[Jim Mullowney]

Drugs are chemicals too

It is irrational to think that the most dangerous category of chemicals
invented (Cytotoxins) have no effect on the environment because it is
convenient to call them medicines. 

It is an act of gross negligence that these "Medicines" always and
everywhere are being dumped directly into the environment through human
excretion. 

Moreover it is insidious for Government and Health Agencies that are aware
Cytotoxic Chemotherapy drugs are entering the water system to continue to
pretend that this activity does not present major threats to the environment
and to the people.

In August 2013 the WHO defined the problem of Genotoxic Waste as Cytotoxic
chemotherapy drug, anything that came into contact with the chemicals and
the Patients urine, feces and vomit for 48 hours after treatment. They go to
further state: 

            Any discharge of genotoxic waste into the environment could have
disastrous ecological consequences

A review of the requirement that human excrement containing cytotoxic drugs
be collected, contained and properly disposed of. This document clearly
identifies the Chief Pharmacist as the responsible party for the management
of cytotoxic waste and the Hospital and Health Insurance Companies should
shoulder the costs associated with its disposal.

To quote the last article "If we don't want these things in the wa-ter, we
have to remove them at the source, which is us," Ms. Haack said. 

The source of Cytotoxic drugs in the environment is the patient excretions
and they can be safely collected and destroyed.

I am attaching a synoptic review of the "WHO Blue Book" and a full copy can
be found at www.cytotoxicsafety.org 

Thank you for acting.

Jim Mullowney

 

 

From: pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces at lists.dep.state.fl.us] On Behalf Of Tenace,
Laurie
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2014 3:24 PM
To: 'pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us'
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Medicines, Cosmetics In Water Worry Scientists (MI)

 

http://www.monroenews.com/news/2014/jun/24/medicines-cosmetics-water-worry-s
cientists/

Medicines, Cosmetics In Water Worry Scientists

When people take medicine or apply beauty products, they may think they're
the only ones affected, but as they flush them out of their system or down
the drain, wild-life will be getting a dose as well.

Traces of cosmetics and common phar-maceuticals have been detected in the
River Raisin spawning from wastewater treatment plant effluents, and while
the amounts are not harmful to humans, scientists are con-cerned about the
negative impacts they can have on fish and birds.

"This could affect reproduction and sur-vival," said Sheridan Haack,
research hydrol-ogist for the U. S. Geological Survey office in Lansing. "
The concern is we don't know what compounds do to wildlife once they get in
the water at these concentrations."

A 2010 study by Ms. Haack revealed that the amount of chemicals doubled
down-stream from the wastewater treatment plant in Adrian compared to a
sample upstream.

Among the higher concentrations were sterols, which are common materials in
fe-cal waste, and industrial chemicals while co-tinine, musk fragrances,
carbamazepine and pesticides were newly detected, according to the study.

Cotinine is a nicotine metabolite the body processes after smoking and
carbamazepine is a drug used to treat epilepsy. Musk fra-grances are beauty
products such as lotion and perfume.

While the first two were detected at low levels, musk fragrances were
measured at 200 to 500 nanograms a liter, five to 12 times more than
carbamazepine, according to the study.

This study is being updated and scientists are measuring the total load of
chemicals coming from the River Raisin and other riv-ers as they discharge
into the Great Lakes, Ms. Haack said. The new testing site is in Monroe.

The USGS is not alone in its studies as other organizations are testing the
effects emerging chemicals of concern have on wildlife.

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be releasing a study later this
summer as well, which analyzes fish and bird eggs along the Detroit River to
see if contaminants were present, said Lisa Williams, toxicologist for the
service in Lansing.

Research is being done in other parts of the country as well to see how
certain chem-icals are affecting fish populations, Ms. Wil-liams said.

For instance, in the Potomac River, scien-tists discovered chemicals in the
water were causing some male fish to produce the hor-mone that female fish
have to create eggs, she said.

Estrogen from birth control also has been found in some water sources and
can femi-nize male fish, shrinking their gonads and lowering sperm count.
Pharmaceuticals like birth control can get into the water from hu-man urine
that gets processed in treatment plants.

There are no standards to regulate these chemicals and government agencies
won't be pursuing the possibility in the near fu-ture.

"There's not enough convincing data to show these quantities pose a threat
to aquat-ic life," said Amy Babcock, toxicologist for the Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality, the regulating agency for the state.

Wastewater treatment plants are required to keep certain chemicals at low
levels like mercury and PCBs because they have been known to cause harm to
both humans and fish, Ms. Babcock said.

However, if eventually regulated to control pharmaceuticals, Ms. Haack isn't
sure plants could treat everything.

"It's an expensive process," she said. "One treatment process may treat some
chemicals but not others."

Though most of these chemicals are pres-ent in wastewater effluent, Ms.
Haack said the treatment plants are not to blame.

"It's not their fault; it's the fault of the con-sumers," she said, adding
that people can limit usage to lessen their impact.

Ways to do this, Ms. Haack said, is to turn in unused medication instead of
flushing it and use fewer personal care products.

While people excrete 80 percent of medi-cations naturally, they can use some
unnec-essary ones less, she said.

"If we don't want these things in the wa-ter, we have to remove them at the
source, which is us," Ms. Haack said.

 

 

Laurie Tenace

Environmental Specialist

Waste Reduction Section

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 4555

Tallahassee, FL 32399-2400

850.245.8759

Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us

 

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