Green Your Holidays
How does this work?

Published in

Hazardous

Rate this post

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars

Tagged as

medications, waterquality

Join the discussion

Be the first to comment

Share this article

Published on August 7th, 2008

EPA Studies Impact of Pharmaceuticals Disposal on Water

by Trey Granger

The Environmental Protection Agency is studying how unused medications are disposed by the health care industry, and what risks the disposal of pharmaceuticals has on water.

As part of its efforts, the EPA is working with the National Academy of Sciences to see what health impacts can occur from pharmaceutical residues in drinking water.

The study will also cover:

  • The potential existence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in fish and natural bodies of water
  • Establishing water quality criteria to protect aquatic life
  • The existence of PPCPs in sewage sludge and wastewater

The EPA considers this a big enough environmental issue that in April the EPA’s Great Lakes office set a goal of collecting one million pounds of pharmaceuticals for proper disposal.

Find out where you can properly dispose of PPCPs using Earth911.

Trey Granger

Trey Granger

Trey Granger is a staff member at Earth911.com.

More articles by Trey


Join the discussion



Recently Added to Hazardous

  • 'Socket Survey': Many Don't Know About Light Bulb Phase Out

    OSRAM SYLVANIA released a new national study today, demonstrating that 78 percent of Americans do not know of the federal legislation to phase out incandescent light bulbs.

    The “Socket Survey,” is the first study to evaluate the awareness of and attitudes …

  • Mercury Unnecessary in Many Consumer Products

    The U.S. EPA has concluded that mercury is not a necessary ingredient in a number of consumer products, and subsequently developed a searchable database of products that contain mercury and possible non-mercury alternatives.

    Mercury is a commonly known ingredient in …

  • California & Pennsylvania Pass Thermostat Recycling Laws

    California and Pennsylvania recently joined Maine, Iowa, New Hampshire and Vermont in passing laws enforcing the proper collection and recycling of thermostats containing mercury, according to Environmental Protection.

    The new laws are based on a model developed by the Product …

Search in

Advertise with us