<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>