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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Mike O’Brien |
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O’Brien proposal addresses potential danger of improper disposal of prescription drugs
HARRISBURG, Nov. 26 – State Rep. Mike O’Brien, D-Phila., said today that he has introduced legislation aimed at preventing discarded pharmaceuticals from contaminating Pennsylvania’s water supplies and harming fish, animals and humans.
“We don’t yet know the scope of the impact that pharmaceutical products may be having on our water supplies, or what danger they pose to animals or humans,” O’Brien said. “But we do know that studies have found measureable amounts of pharmaceutical products in a growing number of our rivers and streams, and that in some instances, fish and other aquatic life seem to be impacted by the pharmaceutical products that end up in these waterways.”
O’Brien said his legislation (H.B. 2073) would require pharmacies and other retailers of pharmaceutical products in Pennsylvania to have a system in place to allow consumers to safely drop off unused or unwanted pharmaceuticals so they can be disposed of properly, and to educate the public about the importance of disposing these products in a safe manner.
“The potential danger of unused or unwanted pharmaceuticals is a problem that should be addressed on several fronts, but a growing body of evidence shows that these products present a particular danger to our water supply,” O’Brien said. “Ensuring that pharmacies, drug stores and other retailers that sell these products have a system in place to ensure that unused pills and other pharmaceuticals are disposed of safely instead of being flushed down the toilet or dumped in a landfill -- much like many communities have in place for other hazardous household waste products -- would be a significant first step.”
O’Brien said a 2002 U.S. Geological Survey found that 80 percent of 139 streams in 30 U.S. states had measurable concentrations of prescription and non-prescription drugs in them, including steroids and reproductive hormones. A study following a high number of fish deaths in the Potomac Basin and Shenandoah watershed between 2003 and 2005 found that 42 percent of the male fish had developed eggs. All of the water samples tested from the rivers and streams studied found detectable levels of at least one endocrine-disrupting compound. Notably, most conventional wastewater treatment plants are not effective at removing pharmaceutical chemicals and compounds from wastewater, O’Brien said, and chlorine has also been shown to be ineffective on these solutions.
“While in most cases, only a very small amount of these chemicals has been detected in the water supply, we have to remember that most of these chemicals are specifically designed to have an impact at low levels,” he said. “While the jury is still out on what impact discarded pharmaceuticals may have on our water supply and human health, I believe it is safer to put a system in place now that ensures future health problems in our population are not the result of carelessly discarded drugs.”
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CONTACT: Ruth A. Myers |