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EPA Proposes Pharmaceutical Waste
Disposal Study
On August 12, 2008, the US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice
in the Federal Register announcing their intention to
submit a detailed questionnaire to hospitals, long-term
care facilities, hospices, and veterinary hospitals
regarding pharmaceutical waste disposal methods.
According to the EPA, the intent of the questionnaire is
to obtain a national picture of unused pharmaceuticals
management and disposal practices including 1) factors
driving current disposal practices 2) information on the
amount and identities of unused pharmaceuticals currently
disposed of via the drain or flushing and 3) alternatives
to drain disposal and flushing.
The EPA estimates that there
are 21,446 medical facilities and 2,830 veterinary
facilities in the targeted study group and have proposed
mailing 3,544 questionnaires to obtain a statistical
sample of the group. Participation will be mandatory for
those receiving the questionnaire and the EPA has included
penalties for non-compliance with the information
collection request. Those receiving the questionnaire
will have 60 days to complete and return the packet.
The questionnaire in its
current form asks for facility data including one year of
financial data (2007), one year of general data on
pharmaceutical waste disposal methods and costs, and one
month of detailed tracking data of pharmaceutical
waste disposal methods. Additionally, the EPA is seeking
information on alternative methods for the management of
unused pharmaceuticals and the costs associated with these
methods.
The EPA intends to utilize the
information gained from this survey to identify the best
management practices that are currently available and
affordable in an effort to reduce the amount of
pharmaceutical waste that is entering the waterways of the
United States due to current disposal methods. In 2006,
the EPA released the Final Effluent Guidelines Plan which
identified Healthcare as one of the target industries
requiring further study. Information gathered from this
survey will also be used to better determine the need for
categorical effluent guidelines for the healthcare and
veterinary industries.
The complete text of the
proposed questionnaire and links to supporting data can be
viewed at
http://www.epa.gov/guide/304m/.
The EPA is seeking comment
on the proposed survey. The public comment period ends
November 12, 2008.
You can submit
your comments, data and information for the Study of
Unused Pharmaceuticals from Medical and Veterinary
Facilities, Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0517, by one of
the following methods: 1)
http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line
instructions for submitting comments. 2) E-mail:
OW-Docket@epa.gov, Attention Docket ID No.
EPA-HQ-OW-2008-0517. You can also submit comments by mail
and hand delivery. See the Federal Register notice for
additional instructions on submitting comments.
Questions
regarding the EPA’s proposed pharmaceutical waste disposal
study can be directed to Wayne Bates at Capaccio
Environmental Engineering, Inc. at (508) 970-0033 x121 or
by e-mail at
wbates@capaccio.com.
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