In the article "Pharmaceutical
Disposal", Burch (2015) mentions that 'pharmaceutical contamination' is a
rising concern throughout the United States. Medicinal products infiltrate
sewerage by many reasons. One of them being commonly practiced is by 'flushing
unwanted or unused medications'. Even though there are 'sewage treatment'
systems, they are not made to get rid of 'these contaminants', which is a
growing issue. Presence of drugs have been found in water sources and ‘drinking
water supplies’ after being tested. ‘Pharmaceutical drug contamination’
have been found to affect ‘fish and aquatic life’ but have yet to be found to
affect humans. ‘Take-back events and permanent drop-off locations’ are
available in New York and Connecticut for people to safely dispose their
medications.
While I agree with the author that
pharmaceutical disposal plays a big part in contaminating water sources, there
are also other major factors to consider. Medication consumed by animals or
humans do not entirely get absorbed by the body, the medications that do not
get absorbed by the body are excreted through urine and faeces. Other pharmaceutical
and personal care products (PPCPs) like perfume, cosmetic, soap and skin
products that are used on clothing or skin can enter water sources after being
washed off. All these PPCPs get flushed down or washed down into water sources.
The author mentions that ‘fish and
aquatic life’ are affected but he fails to mention that animals that prey on
fishes and other aquatic life may get affected as well. In an article, “As
Pharmaceutical Use Soars, Drugs Taint Water and Wildlife”, Shah (2010) reports
that vultures who ate animals that consumed pharmaceuticals were exposed and
affected which shows that exposure to pharmaceuticals can cause a chain effect
to happen. The author includes that humans have yet to be affected. However, it
is a growing issue. Hence, future health problems may start to surface after
consuming drinking water that contains pharmaceuticals.
In the article, Burch concludes that a
critical part of the solving the issue is to ‘stop flushing drugs’. He also
mentions that there are ‘take-back events and permanent drop-off locations’
available in New York and Connecticut. However, the issue is happening
throughout the nation, the author did not mention other alternatives of
disposing medications if the locations are not accessible to other people.
There are other means of disposing unused or expired medications. Harvard
Health Publications (2011) provides other ways like mixing medications with
‘sawdust, cat litter, coffee grounds’ etc. before disposing to prevent misuse
of medications and to minimize the chances that stray animals might consume
them. People can also reduce the quantity that they purchase so that disposal
of expired or unused medications can be minimized. The public needs to be
educated on how to handle their medications safely and also the importance of
it.
In conclusion, the article gave a
brief introduction to the contamination of water sources through flushing of
drugs, the effects of it and also the action taken although the information
given was not sufficient.
References:
Burch, LW. (2015, March 4). Pharmaceutical
Disposal.
Retrieved from:
Harvard Health Publications (2011, June 1). Drugs in the Water.
Retrieved from:
Poison Control. Protect the Water Supply.
Retrieved from:
Shah S. (2010, April 15) As Pharmaceutical Use
Soars, Drugs Taint Water and Wildlife.
Retrieved from:
Utah State University. Pharmaceuticals
Retrieved from:
Kyle Hirsch. Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care
Products
Retrieved from:
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