<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1586" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=733064319-06022007><FONT
face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff size=2>Landfill chemistry is indeed a great,
under-studied issue. Not only is there the issue of the
pharmaceuticals in their present form, but what chemical interactions might
occur when they slowly interact with acids, bases, ethers, esters and the
other chemicals disposed in landfills, as well as those formed by the
anaerobic bacteria active in landfills. USEPA
acknowledges that all subtitle D MSW landfills WILL leak into groundwater;
probably after the 30-year post closure responsibility period....for more
information, Google Dr. G. Fred Lee or Peter Anderson Madison
WI.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=733064319-06022007><FONT
face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=733064319-06022007><FONT
face="Comic Sans MS" color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV><BR>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> pharmwaste-bounces@lists.dep.state.fl.us
[mailto:pharmwaste-bounces@lists.dep.state.fl.us] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Stephen
Musson<BR><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, February 06, 2007 1:23 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
pharmwaste@lists.dep.state.fl.us<BR><B>Subject:</B> [text][heur] Re:
[Pharmwaste] Curing the problem of discarding pills - Seattle,WA
2/1/07<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>I notice that this article points to dangers of medications in
landfills. However, in a modern lined landfill, I have not seen any
studies pointing to medication leaching from the landfill. A handful of
studies have detected some in groundwater near an old landfill which had an
identifiable source of a given pharm. Does anyone else have more
information than this?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>With some states now telling people to use the trash instead of the sink, I
think we need to be wary of these blanket statements without proof.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR><B><I>"DeBiasi,Deborah" <dldebiasi@deq.virginia.gov></I></B>
wrote:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/301869_hcenter01.html<BR><BR>SEATTLE
POST-INTELLIGENCER<BR>http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/301869_hcenter01.html<BR><BR>Curing
the problem of discarding pills <BR>Thursday, February 1, 2007<BR><BR>By
CHERIE BLACK<BR>P-I REPORTER<BR><BR>At one time, pharmacies and physicians
were OK with consumers flushing<BR>unwanted or expired medications down the
toilet or throwing them in the<BR>garbage. <BR><BR>Now, we know better.
<BR><BR>Evidence of the medications' harmful effects have been surfacing in
our<BR>waterways, landfills and marine life. A nationwide study released
in<BR>2002 by the United States Geological Survey showed trace levels
of<BR>chemicals found in prescription drugs in 80 percent of the
streams<BR>across the country. <BR><BR>Putting medicines in the garbage also
can lead to accidental contact by<BR>children and animals. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention<BR>points to an increased risk of accidental
poisoning from unwanted or<BR>expired medications sitting in medicine
cabinets. Plus, the old<BR>medicines still can end up in the soil through
landfills. <BR><BR>So what to do? <BR><BR>"We see this all the time, patients
come to us and say please help us<BR>figure this out," said Shirley Reitz,
associate director for clinical<BR>pharmacy services at Group Health. "We
needed a way to do this without<BR>flushing them down the toilet or putting
them in the garbage can," she<BR>said.<BR><BR>As a result, a coalition of
government and non-profit groups throughout<BR>the state, including Group
Health, the Department of Ecology and the<BR>Washington State Board of
Pharmacy, have developed a program to offer a<BR>better option -- the first
program in Washington that collects unwanted<BR>pharmaceuticals and disposes
of them safely. <BR><BR>The program is running in pharmacies at seven test
sites throughout the<BR>state, including three in King County. Each has a
large, blue, highly<BR>secure medical disposal unit in the customer waiting
area where<BR>consumers bring unwanted medications in the original containers
and drop<BR>them in the box, Reitz said. The materials are then transported to
a<BR>hazardous waste destruction site for environmentally safe disposal.
<BR><BR>The program is modeled after one in British Columbia, established
by<BR>pharmaceutical companies in 1996, which lets consumers return
medication<BR>at more than 90 percent of its pharmacies. <BR><BR>"This is a
baby step toward that system -- that's the end game and what<BR>we're trying
to build toward," said Sego Jackson, principal planner with<BR>Snohomish
County's solid waste division. The county also is<BR>participating in the
statewide effort to have all pharmacies offer<BR>medicine disposal sites.
<BR><BR>"This pilot is a win for health and safety and a win for
the<BR>environment," said Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon.
"By<BR>partnering with agencies like Group Health, we hope to ultimately
see<BR>convenient and safe disposal sites for medications at pharmacies
across<BR>the state."<BR><BR>Bartell Drugs also is involved in the program,
and plans to establish a<BR>pilot site.<BR><BR>During the past two months, the
test sites collected 45 5-gallon buckets<BR>of medications, Reitz said. The
coalition plans to establish as many as<BR>25 permanent sites throughout the
state, once finished working out final<BR>details of the program, including
making sure there are enough resources<BR>at each site to handle the volume
and finalizing the state contract with<BR>the hazardous waste plant
incinerating the medication. In a January<BR>report by Washington Citizens for
Resource Conservation, just over half<BR>of King County residents surveyed
said medicine manufacturers should be<BR>responsible for funding a safe and
convenient disposal solution. Nearly<BR>75 percent said they would properly
dispose of medications if they knew<BR>of a convenient location. Eighty
percent said they were likely to return<BR>their unused or expired medicines
in a secure drop box set up at a<BR>pharmacy. <BR><BR>"When it comes to
dangerous garbage, we know how to bury things and burn<BR>things," said Will
Perry, health and environmental investigator with<BR>Public Health -- Seattle
& King County. "I don't think there are any<BR>gross human public health
concerns yet, but there is enough reason for<BR>potential environmental
problems and we want to be paying attention to<BR>this."<BR><BR>Local
hospitals also are taking steps to make sure unused medications<BR>don't end
up in waterways and landfills. At the University of Washington<BR>Medical
Center, medications are returned to the manufacturer for credit<BR>when
possible. For narcotics, the medical center contracts a reverse<BR>distributor
who logs the drugs, fills out the necessary Drug Enforcement<BR>Agency forms
and has the drugs incinerated, said Shabir Somani, the<BR>medical center's
pharmacy director. <BR><BR>Dr. Alison Lewis, a family physician for Group
Health, said she has<BR>patients come in daily with bags full of pill bottles,
many expired, and<BR>are confused about which ones they can still take.
<BR><BR>"I frequently see young kids taking their parent's or
grandparent's<BR>narcotics," she said. "It's an invitation for abuse if you
don't lock<BR>medications up or throw them away." Patients should encourage
their<BR>doctors and pharmacists to make a safe disposal system available to
them<BR>so they don't flush or throw them away, Lewis said.<BR><BR>"There
really is no other way right now."<BR><BR>DRUG DISPOSAL<BR>What is safe to
return:<BR><BR>Prescription and over-the-counter medication<BR><BR>Medication
samples<BR><BR>Veterinary medications<BR><BR>Vitamins<BR><BR>Medicated
ointments and lotions<BR><BR>Inhalers<BR><BR>Liquid medication in glass or
leakproof containers<BR><BR>What can't be
returned:<BR><BR>Needles<BR><BR>Thermometers<BR><BR>IV bags<BR><BR>Bloody or
infectious waste<BR><BR>Personal-care products<BR><BR>Controlled
substances<BR><BR>Hydrogen peroxide<BR><BR>Empty containers<BR><BR>Business
waste<BR><BR>Where to take it <BR><BR>The Medication Take-Back program is
available at these seven pilot<BR>Washington pharmacies, with more sites
statewide scheduled to be<BR>available soon. <BR><BR><BR>Burien Medical Center
Pharmacy<BR><BR>140 S.W. 146th St., Burien, 206-901-2405<BR><BR><BR>Everett
Medical Center Pharmacy<BR><BR>2930 Maple St., Everett,
425-261-1560<BR><BR><BR>Olympia Medical Center Pharmacy<BR><BR>700 Lilly Road
N.E., Olympia, 360-923-7600<BR><BR><BR>Eastside Hospital and Specialty Center
Pharmacy<BR><BR>2700 152nd Ave. N.E., Redmond, 425-883-5940<BR><BR><BR>Renton
Medical Center Pharmacy<BR><BR>275 Bronson Way N.E., Renton,
425-235-2855<BR><BR><BR>Silverdale Medical Center Pharmacy<BR><BR>10452
Silverdale Way N.W., Silverdale, 360-307-7410<BR><BR><BR>Riverfront Medical
Center Pharmacy<BR><BR>322 W. North River Drive, Spokane,
509-324-6464<BR><BR>Learn more<BR><BR>For more information on how to properly
dispose of medications or other<BR>health materials, call the state Department
of Ecology at 800-RECYCLE<BR>(800-732-9253). <BR><BR>Sources: Group Health
Cooperative, Public Health -- Seattle &
King<BR>County<BR><BR><BR><BR>------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>--------<BR><BR>P-I
reporter Cherie Black can be reached at 206-448-8180
or<BR>cherieblack@seattlepi.com.<BR><BR>(c) 1998-2007 Seattle
Post-Intelligencer<BR><BR><BR>Deborah L. DeBiasi<BR>Email:
dldebiasi@deq.virginia.gov<BR>WEB site address:
www.deq.virginia.gov<BR>Virginia Department of Environmental Quality<BR>Office
of Water Permit Programs<BR>Industrial Pretreatment/Toxics Management
Program<BR>Mail: P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218 (NEW!)<BR>Location: 629 E.
Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219<BR>PH: 804-698-4028<BR>FAX:
804-698-4032<BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>Pharmwaste
mailing
list<BR>Pharmwaste@lists.dep.state.fl.us<BR>http://lists.dep.state.fl.us/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pharmwaste<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR></BODY></HTML>