[Pharmwaste] Fish lesions, other problems are cause for worry - PA article

Tue Sep 23 10:29:16 EDT 2014

How about more focus on preventing?  I had hoped this article would
literally move the discussion upstream, but instead its still waste
management. We need someone to take Christian Daughton's last publication,
disseminate it widely to physicians and synthesize it to colloquial terms
for use with the general public.  Collection programs then need to hand this
information out to participants.  

Very truly yours,

Catherine Zimmer, MS, BSMT

Zimmer Environmental Improvement, LLC

St. Paul, MN 

Ph:  651.645.7509

 <mailto:zenllc at usfamily.net> zenllc at usfamily.net

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, September 23, 2014 8:54 AM
To: 'pharmwaste at lists.dep.state.fl.us'
Subject: [Pharmwaste] Fish lesions, other problems are cause for worry - PA
article 

Fish lesions, other problems are cause for worry

http://www.goerie.com/article/20140923/NIE04/309239998/Fish-lesions-other-pr
oblems-are-cause-for-worry

By ANNA McCARTNEY, Erie Times-News 
Contributing writer 

Something is very out of sync in aquatic ecosystems around the world.

Evidence can be found in the unusually widespread frequency of fish lesions,
excessive mortality and intersex fish. Male fish containing eggs in their
testes have been found nationwide, including Pennsylvania's major
watersheds, according to U.S. Geological Survey research. These problems
plaguing fish and other aquatic life should be signs the water we rely on
for drinking is also in trouble.

The likely culprits are endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that upset the
endocrine system, which regulates hormones and the reproductive system. The
sources of these chemicals are complex mixtures from agricultural animal
wastes, pesticides and herbicides, and human sources from wastewater
treatment plant effluent and other sewage discharges, according to Vicki
Blazer, fish biologist and lead Pennsylvania study author. Low-dose exposure
to EDCs at sensitive life stages can have long-term effects, including
reproductive impairment, reduced disease resistance and early mortality.

These chemicals found in pharmaceuticals (human and veterinary) and personal
care products (PPCPs), flame retardants, antibacterial products, plastics,
pesticides and fertilizers are not currently regulated or commonly
monitored. Since exposure to these EDCs has also been linked to conditions
such as low sperm counts and testicular cancer in men, as well as breast
cancer, obesity and autism, what's happening to aquatic animals should alert
us to keep these chemicals out of the environment.

In 2008, Pennsylvania Sea Grant began tackling the problem of disposal and
education. Before its first PPCP collection, funded by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency in April 2008, the only choices locally were
to flush unused meds, put them in the trash or keep them indefinitely in
home medicine chests. All these options create serious public health issues,
from drug abuse to water contamination.

In 2010, with an EPA Great Lakes Restoration grant and with Great Lakes Sea
Grant partners in New York, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, Pennsylvania Sea
Grant expanded its campaign to prevent unnecessary PPCPs from entering the
environment. Sea Grant has educated and involved the public, elected
officials, health-care professionals and others in solutions. Its campaign
has reached 1,227,057 people and safely disposed of 21,765 pounds of unused
meds.

Pa Sea Grant's collection events, data and the partnerships formed with
groups locally, throughout the Great Lakes and nationally picked up the
steam needed to address PPCP use and disposal. Groups include the Lake Erie
College of Osteopathic Medicine School of Pharmacy and UPMC Hamot, health
departments, police departments, the American Veterinary Medical
Association, universities and others. Sea Grant staff members are currently
working with the National Sea Grant Network to reach and teach more people
nationwide.

Pennsylvania and other states now have collection boxes at police
departments that accept prescription and over-the-counter and pet
medications. And during the past four years, upward of 4 million pounds have
been collected in just 32 hours during eight National Prescription Drug
Take-Back days sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and law
enforcement agencies.

However, even these are not enough to keep drugs from every home, hospital,
doctor's office, and long-term care facility out of the environment or the
hands of abusers. The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced plans to
authorize pharmacies and hospitals to serve as drop-off sites for unused
meds and an option to mail them directly to an authorized collector. Until
these rules go into effect, you can use the collection boxes or participate
in the next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day this Saturday from 10
a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit  <http://www.paseagrant.org/> www.paseagrant.org for
sites or call (800) 882-9539.

Join us next week to learn more about PPCP problems and solutions.

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

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/pipermail/pharmwaste/attachments/20140923/a81116d0/attachment-0001.htm