Source: Nancy Larson, 316-722-7721, nlarson@k-state.edu
http://www.sbeap.org
News release prepared by: Andy Badeker, 785-532-6415, abadeker@k-state.edu
Monday, Nov. 19, 2007
FLUSH NO MORE: OLD MEDICATIONS SHOULD GO OUT WITH THE TRASH, ACCORDING TO DIRECTOR OF K-STATE'S POLLUTION PREVENTION INSTITUTE
MANHATTAN -- Sending your outdated or unneeded medications down the drain, the standard disposal tactic for years, has been added to the list of environmental taboos, according to Kansas State University's Pollution Prevention Institute and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
For the last year the institute has carried out a pilot project funded by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Bureau of Water, said Nancy Larson, director of the institute, which is part of the Small Business Environmental Assistance Program. She has been working with nursing homes in Sedgwick County to document their disposal habits and to steer them toward the latest recommendations.
Those differ for individuals and institutions, Larson said. Nursing homes and other health care providers can send excess or expired drugs back to the pharmacy for disposal. Private citizens whose cities offer a hazardous-waste disposal program should use that option.
Otherwise, you should mix unwanted medicines into a paste with coffee grounds or kitty litter, seal the result in a lidded container and place it with the rest of the household trash.
That tactic -- recommended for prescription and over-the-counter medications alike -- will help keep such compounds out of state waterways, Larson said.
"The U.S. Geological Survey has been detecting pharmaceuticals in streams for more than 30 years," Larson said, "but in the last 10 years they've been seeing genetic changes in wildlife." Wastewater treatment plants can cope with microbes, but they can't remove pharmaceuticals and other chemicals.
More information about disposal is available online at: http://www.sbeap.org/publications/Pharmaceutical/index.php
Larson's task has been to inform nursing-home operators, as well as pharmacists and other health professionals, about the recommendations. She will be hosting a Web cast on the topic Thursday, Dec. 13; those interested can sign up at http://www.sbeap.org
"Long-term care facilities are very open to this," Larson said. "They know it is a problem; they just don't know how to correct it."
To that end, Larson has visited several facilities and has spoken at state conferences for health care workers. She also has written numerous articles.
"This is just one small step that can help protect our communities and the water quality we all depend on," Larson said.