In the article "Pharmaceutical Disposal", Burch
(2015) discussed the rising concern of water pollution in United States due to
the improper ways of drug disposal. In addition, Burch also mentioned the act
of "flushing unwanted or unused medications" as a factor due to
common practices and absence of drug filtration in "wastewater treatment
plants". Although the effect on humans is unclear, negative effect on
"fish and aquatic life" has been proven. However, the severity of the
issue is still uncertain due to the lack of regulation and/or policies in
place. The author states that the problem of “flushing drugs” might be resolved
by providing "access to safe and convenient pharmaceutical disposal
options".
I agree with the author that improper disposal of pharmaceutical
products is indeed a rising concern as a factor of water contamination.
However, the author focused it as a key issue and did not explore other
contributing factors. I believe that there are contaminants from other sources
which would require more recognition.
It is certainly true that improper disposal of
pharmaceutical products is one of the factors contributing to water
contamination, even in drinking supplies. However, the article only
considered "pharmaceutical disposal" by public and healthcare
facilities. It did not include those of industrial waste even though a
significant amount of waste enter the Great Lakes daily. For example, Bienkowski and
Environmental Health News (2013) reported that "More than 1,400 wastewater
treatment plants in the United States and Canada discharge 4.8 billion gallons
of treated effluent into the Great Lakes basin every day" when they
discussed about the findings of a study conducted by the International Joint
Commission.
In the article, adverse effects on the aquatic life were
also mentioned. According to Shah
(2010), toxicity research on wildlife is generally studied on aquatic species.
However, I feel that we should also explore the chain effect in the other
areas. There are no proper definitions as to which type of species or organisms
in the ecosystem would provide an accurate representation of wildlife, since
all of them have different behaviour patterns,
anatomy etc. As mentioned by Kidd
et al. (2014), "small-scale studies focusing solely on direct effects are
likely to underestimate the true environmental impacts". Even though the
negative effects on the aquatic life are proven, I feel that it should only serve
as an indicator and reference while we continue to research the effects on the
ecosystem. The sole inclusion of the impact on aquatic life with no elaboration does
not reflect the severity and extent of the effects and do not inform the
community of it.
In the article, Burch also mentioned that "a critical
part of the solution is to STOP flushing drugs" because it is a
"highly prevalent and preventable source of pharmaceutical
pollution." There is no doubt that it is an agreeable point. However, it
failed to consider involuntary factors such as pollution due to excretion and
usage of personal care products. Medicines taken are not always metabolized
fully and are usually excreted out of the human body. In addition, topical
medications and care products applied are also introduced into the waste
through bathing. Daughton and Ruhoy (2013) also mentioned that "excretion
via urine and fecal material" is the main contributor of "Active
Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs)" contamination found in the environment. Perhaps it would be
more effective to advice pharmacists, and other relevant medical positions, on
the reduction or optimal prescribing of medicines to patients instead. There
would be lesser residual medications being excreted, which would then serve as
a plausible solution in reducing contamination via the involuntary secondary
route. In addition, an alternative solution would be to research on ways
to improve our current infrastructure. For example, research on methods to
allow wastewater treatment plants to be able to remove unwanted pharmaceutical
impurities, or for companies to simplify the process during manufacturing.
Legislation was mentioned as a counter measure in the
article. It is worth noting that even though the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) regulates water pollutants with The Clean Water Act
(CWA), the list does not include medicinal products (Cuevas, 2011). Perhaps
improvements should be made to the regulation. Even though pharmaceutical
products serve as a remedy to illness, they can also become an undesired toxin
which will in turn harm us. In comparison to United States, there is stricter
control in Singapore. Pollution control is regulated under the authority of the
National Environmental Agency (NEA). Different factors are considered and
cross-referenced as a whole, for example, the control of soil pollution is
considered with the regulation of water pollution. In addition, NEA considers
pharmaceutical and pathogenic wastes under their "list of toxic industrial
wastes", along with many others.
In general, this article served well as a general
introduction to water pollution by pharmaceutical factors. It included the main
idea of contamination due to direct disposal, though it lacks insight into
other factors beside the given point. Although it is sufficient to inform the
public of the dangers by improper “pharmaceutical disposal”, the page could be
build up with information of other relevant factors.
References
Bienkowski, B & Environmental Health News (2013, November
22). Only Half of Drugs
Removed by Sewage Treatment. Scientific American. Retrieved
from:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/only-half-of-drugs-removed-by-sewage-treatment/
Burch, L.W. (2015, March 4). Pharmaceutical Disposal. Citizens Campaign for the
Environment. Retrieved from:
http://www.citizenscampaign.org/campaigns/pharmaceutical-disposal.asp
Cuevas, G. (2011, February 8) From Therapeutic Drugs to
Toxic Contaminants: Pharmaceutical Pollution in the Water and Strategies to
Regulate Its Impact. Columbia
Journal of Environmental Law. Retrieved
from:
http://www.columbiaenvironmentallaw.org/articles/from-therapeutic-drugs-to-toxic-contaminants-pharmaceutical-pollution-in-the-water-and-strategies-to-regulate-its-impact
Daughton, C.G. & Ruhoy, I.S. (2013, January 15) Lower-dose
prescribing: Minimizing “side effects” of pharmaceuticals on society and the
environment. Science of The
Total Environment, Volume 443, p324–337. Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969712013927
Kidd, K.A., Paterson, M.J., Rennie, M.D., Podemski, C.L.,
Findlay, D.L., Blanchfield, P.J., Liber, K. (2014, October 13). Direct and
indirect responses of a freshwater food web to a potent synthetic oestrogen. Philosophical Transactions of The
Royal Society, B 2014 369
20130578; DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0578. Retrieved from:
http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/369/1656/20130578
National Environmental Agency. (n.d.) The Schedule. Retrieved
from:
http://www.nea.gov.sg/docs/default-source/anti-pollution-radiation-protection/soil-pollution/20100505422108755681.pdf?sfvrsn=2
Shah S. (2010, April 15) As Pharmaceutical Use Soars, Drugs
Taint Water and Wildlife. Yale
Environment 360. Retrieved
from:
http://e360.yale.edu/feature/as_pharmaceutical_use_soars_drugs_taint_water_and_wildlife/2263/
