Associated Press examines drug disposal practices of hospitals, long-term care facilities

Hospitals, hospices and nursing homes dump at least 250 million pounds of unused medications and contaminated packaging into the U.S. drinking water supply each year, according to an ongoing Associated Press investigation, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Associated Press based the estimate on a small sample, as few of the 5,700 hospitals and 45,000 long-term care facilities maintain records on the amount of unused medications of which they dispose.

According to the AP/Chronicle, the medications "are expired, spoiled, over-prescribed or unneeded." And others "are simply unused because patients refuse to take them, can't tolerate them or die with nearly full 90-day supplies of multiple prescriptions on their nightstands." The "enormous amount of pharmaceuticals being flushed by the health services industry is aggravating an emerging problem," the AP/Chronicle reports. The Environmental Protection Agency has begun to consider a national standard for the amount of unused medications of which health care facilities can dispose in drinking water, but the agency likely would not finalize such a standard before 2009, according to EPA official Ben Grumbles(Donn et. al, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 9/21).

Controlled Substances

Narcotics and other controlled substances are the forms of medications most likely to contaminate the drinking water supply, the AP/Chronicle reports. According to the AP/Chronicle, hospital environmental administrators maintain that federal regulations on narcotics, stimulants, depressants and steroids "make these drugs nearly impossible to handle safely as waste." Drug Enforcement Administration spokesperson Rogene Waite said, "DEA is currently developing regulations to allow for the safe and effective destruction of controlled substances" (Donn, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 9/21).