The D.C. Council is considering legislation that would require the proper disposal of prescription drugs, which often end up flushed down the toilet and in the drinking water supply.
The bill, put forth by at-large Councilman David Catania, would establish drop-off and mail-in programs for disposing of unused prescription drugs, and would require the Department of Health to participate in that collection and disposal process. Hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies also would have to implement a safe plan to get rid of their discarded drugs.
“While I don’t want to alarm the public, it’s important to know that there are currently no EPA standards or guidance on the subject of the disposal of pharmaceuticals nor on how they are treated nor how they are removed from sewage, and so it flows right into our drinking supplies,” Catania said at Tuesday’s council meeting.
The drugs end up in the water through several methods, one of which is human waste. But the most common, Catania said, is flushing the unused prescription drugs down the toilet to dispose of them.
“As the use of prescription drugs has skyrocketed over the past decade, so has the number and concentration of pharmaceuticals found in our water supply,” Catania said.
Last year’s investigation of major metropolitan areas by the Associated Press uncovered 24 areas in the country with drugs in the tap water. At least six drugs were found in the District’s drinking water, including caffeine and ibuprofen; plus less common drugs such as Carbamazepine, an anti-convulsant for epilepsy and mood stabilizer for bipolar disorder; Monensin, an antibiotic for cattle; and Sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic used mainly for urinary tract infections.
The bill, presented with the support of council members Mary Cheh and Tommy Wells, was referred to the council’s Committee on Health.
“The takeaway from this … is that we should not throw our pills down the toilet until we come up with an alternative system,” Catania said.
