CHICAGO, Illinois, November 11, 2008 (ENS) – To keep expired and unused prescription drugs out of the Chicago water supply, city, state and federal governments are cooperating to provide a new permanent, convenient way for people to discard them without flushing them down the drain.

Drop boxes are now located at five Chicago Police Department Area Centers. From there, the pharmaceuticals will be packaged and sent to a state-authorized incinerator for destruction. The collection of the pharmaceuticals is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the disposal is funded by Illinois EPA.

“Many people may not be aware that improperly disposing of prescription or over-the-counter drugs, such as flushing them down the toilet, contributes to pharmaceuticals found in our waterways,” said Mayor Richard Daley, announcing the new drop boxes on November 1.

Unwanted medications can contaminate drinking
water. (Photo courtesy NOAA)

“Residents who have expired and unused pharmaceuticals are encouraged to use these drop boxes at police headquarters, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said.

The mayor says Chicago’s drinking water is safe and meets or exceeds all standards of safety as established by the U.S. EPA and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

A water sampling project conducted in March by the Bureau of Water, Illinois EPA identified 16 pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the untreated or drinking water of five public water supplies in Illinois, including Chicago.

The chemicals range from caffeine, nicotine, aspirin and the insect repellent DEET to prescription drugs such as the antibiotic penicillin, the anti-convulsant Dilantin and the thyroid hormone replacement Levothyroxine.

But a comparison of the sampling results with conservative screening levels developed by the Illinois EPA and the Illinois Department of Public Health showed the levels found in water supplies “do not present a public health hazard at this time,” the report states.

Still, the majority of trace pharmaceuticals found in the city’s waterways are the result of human and livestock excretion.

Improperly disposing of prescription or over-the-counter drugs can contribute to pharmaceuticals found in the city’s water. Proper management and disposal has been found to lessen the impact of prescription drugs on the water system.

This year the city has been able to keep just over one ton of prescription drugs out of the waste stream as a result of four neighborhood drop-off events in addition to the permanent drop-off site at the Household Chemicals and Computer Recycling Facility located at Goose Island.

“While research is continuing the impact of pharmaceuticals and personal care products on people and aquatic life, we know that we need to take action now to prevent them from getting into our waterways and lakes, and into our drinking water,” said Illinois EPA Director Doug Scott.

Expired and unused pharmaceuticals can be disposed of in drop boxes at the five Chicago Police Department Area Centers. By using the police facilities as a drop-off location, the controlled substances will be deposited safely and kept under observation by law enforcement until they are destroyed, the mayor said. The centers are located at:

* Area 1 – 5101 S. Wentworth Ave.
* Area 2 – 727 E. 111th St.
* Area 3 – 2452 W. Belmont Ave.
* Area 4 – 3151 W. Harrison St.
* Area 5 – 5555 W. Grand Ave.

After the pharmaceuticals are put in the drop box, they will be removed and taken to the Goose Island facility for packaging, then transported by the Illinois EPA to a disposal facility for incineration.

The disposal facility is permitted to handle these materials and contains state-of-the-art technology for controlling the air emissions generated from the incineration.

“Properly disposing of unwanted medicines helps protect our Great Lakes by keeping these contaminants out of waterways such as Lake Michigan,” said EPA Regional Administrator Lynn Buhl. “EPA was pleased to fund this safe and convenient way for the public to get rid of their old and unwanted meds.”

“Chemicals from medicines flushed down the toilet can pass untreated through sewage plants, damage septic systems, and contaminate nearby waterways,” said Beth Hinchey Malloy, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Great Lakes ecosystem specialist. “Medicines thrown in the trash can be scavenged or they have the potential to contaminate landfill leachate.”

“Some pharmacies will take back some unwanted medications, and some communities have one-day collection events, but there is no long-term solution to this growing and potentially dangerous wastestream,” said Susan Boehme, IISG coastal sediment specialist. “We field calls every week from community leaders, state officials, pharmacists, doctors, solid waste managers or environmental activists looking for information, support, and solutions.”

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CHICAGO, Illinois, March 17, 2008 (ENS) – Following reports last week that trace amounts of pharmaceuticals are contaminating the nation’s drinking water, Governor Rod Blagojevich has directed the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to expand its water quality monitoring to determine levels of pharmaceuticals that may be in Illinois waterways.

The Illinois EPA also will promote safe ways to dispose of over-the-counter, prescription drugs and personal care products to ultimately reduce the amount of unregulated chemicals in drinking water systems.

Even though the U.S. Geological Survey’s research finds that the concentrations of unregulated pharmaceuticals in drinking water supplies are likely far below levels to prompt public health concerns, the governor directed the Illinois EPA and the Illinois Department of Public Health to further assess the effects of these substances on human health.

“Safe drinking water is the highest priority. Even though reports indicate the concentration of unregulated chemicals found in the nation’s water sources was low, we can’t take any chances,” said the governor. “The additional research we do now and the steps we take today will help us further protect our health and the health of our children.”

Illinois waters will be tested for
drugs. (Photo courtesy USGS)

While there are no federal standards regulating pharmaceuticals in drinking water, the Illinois EPA will expand its testing of water supplies through a partnership with the City of Chicago to better determine the presence of such chemicals in the city’s drinking water.

Illinois EPA will also offer testing to communities downstream from wastewater treatment plants that may be affected.

Within the next few weeks, Illinois EPA will begin collecting samples of treated and untreated water from participating water systems and will coordinate laboratory analysis to determine the presence of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in drinking water supplies.

Both the Illinois EPA and the Illinois Department of Public Health will review the lab results to assess any possible risk to public health.

“While Illinois’ drinking water is safe and there is no cause for immediate concern, the Illinois EPA will assess the scope of the presence of pharmaceuticals in our waterways to ensure that our drinking water supplies are adequately protected,” said Illinois EPA Director Doug Scott.

In addition to expanded testing, the Illinois EPA will continue to push for more evaluation of the human health effects of unregulated pharmaceuticals in drinking water supplies.

At a Great Lakes meeting planned for later this month in Indianapolis, Illinois EPA Director Doug Scott will work with other Great Lakes state environmental officials to call for more federal evaluation of these chemicals. The Illinois EPA will assist the U.S. EPA in developing any new regulations under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act needed to protect public health.

The Illinois EPA will also expand a pharmaceutical disposal program it launched last summer with several county health departments to collect old and unwanted pharmaceuticals.

As part of the current pilot program, solid waste agencies in Kendall, Will, Knox and McDonough and the City of Galesburg collect unused drugs from senior centers, retirement complexes, and convalescent centers in their areas.

The state agency provides the disposal containers to the counties. Since the pilot program launched, Illinois EPA has removed six 30-gallon drums of pharmaceuticals from the environment through the four pilot programs.

The Illinois EPA will invite Cook County and City of Chicago to join the collection program, and encourage other county solid waste agencies to create similar drug collection programs to prevent drugs from being flushed down the drain and possibly ending up in drinking water supplies.

Illinois EPA will continue collecting unused pharmaceuticals at its household hazardous waste collection events, which are held across the state each spring and fall.

In the event that citizens cannot attend one of the agency’s Household Hazardous Waste collections, four permanent household hazardous waste collection facilities in Rockford, Naperville, Chicago and Lake County also accept pharmaceutical waste. In addition, many hospitals, pharmacies and police departments also offer programs to collect and dispose of unwanted drugs.

To discourage illegal and unsafe ingestion of discarded pharmaceuticals, the state encourages people to remove unused or unneeded drugs from their original containers, mix them with coffee grounds or kitty litter, and put them in nondescript impermeable containers, such as empty cans, for disposal.

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