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Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care ProductsToxics & Hazards: Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products
General Information
Overview & Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products (PPCPs) include medicines, insect repellents, sunscreens, perfumes, soaps, fragrances and lotions. News Release: Pharmaceuticals Unlikely in MWRA Water Issued on March 9, 2008, by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. Back to Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products index Toxics & Hazards: Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products
What MassDEP is Doing
Proceedings from the 2nd Annual Workshop on Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products (PPCPs) & Endocrine Disrupting compounds (EDCs) in Wastewater" Held on Tuesday, September 22, 2009, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Testimony of MassDEP Commissioner Laurie Burt: Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products May 13, 2008. Hearing of the Massachusetts Legislature's Joint Committee on Public Health, convened in response to recent reports that drinking water across the country contains these compounds. What is MassDEP doing to evaluate PPCPs & EDCs? MassDEP has a multi-component approach for identifying potential risks of PPCPs and EDCs to human health and the environment. Learn more from the Frequently Asked Question fact sheet, October 2008 MassDEP/Department of Public Health Summit on Pharmaceuticals June 2008. Notes from the summit. Back to Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products index Toxics & Hazards: Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products
What You Can Do
What can I do to help minimize my contribution to PPCPs & EDCs in the environment? Learn how to reduce pharmaceutical waste, take back programs and proper disposal from the Frequently Asked Question fact sheet, October 2008 Where can I get more information about PPCPs & EDCs? Get contact information and related links from the Frequently Asked Question fact sheet, October 2008 Back to Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products index Toxics & Hazards: Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products
Safely Discarding Waste Medications
For many years, unwanted medications have been flushed down toilets or poured down drains. While this keeps drugs away from people for whom they were not prescribed, it is not environmentally friendly. The medications travel through wastewater to treatment plants and septic systems, and from there into our groundwater, rivers, ponds and streams where they can harm aquatic life. more...
Next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day: U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) web site Waiver from Household Hazardous Waste Requirements: September 2011 Waiver from Household Hazardous Waste Requirements: August 2011 Fact Sheets on Waste Medication Collection & DisposalThe fact sheets below describe MassDEP requirements for more responsibly disposing of waste medications. These requirements apply differently to health care facilities, municipalities and organizations that collect discarded medications from residents, and individuals in private homes. Disposal of Waste Medications at Private Residences February 2010 Disposal of Waste Medications Collected from Residents August 2011 Disposal of Waste Medications by Health Care Facilities August 2011 Back to Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products index Toxics & Hazards: Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products
Research & Technical Information
Emerging Contaminants Fact Sheet & Overview Emerging contaminants are hazardous materials (chemical, microbial or radiological substances) or mixtures of interest that are characterized by: a perceived or real threat to human health, public safety or environment; no currently published health standard/guideline exists or it is evolving or being re-evaluated; there is insufficient or limited available toxicological information; or, a new source, pathway, or detection limit has been discovered. Emerging contaminants may be naturally occurring or manmade. Pharmaceuticals in the Water: A Look at an Emerging & Pressing Issue Report by Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs intern & Brandies University student Nina Savransky. Investigating Emergent Contaminants: Pharmaceutical Impacts & Possible Solutions 2007. Prepared by Leah Bowe as part of a research project funded by the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products in Water home page. U.S. Geographical Survey (USGS) Investigations & Reports Pharmaceuticals & Other Anthropogenic Organic Compounds in New England Water Resources, 2002-2007. American Water Works Association (AWWA) Research Foundation Endocrine Disruptors/Pharmaceuticals & Personal Care Products Strategic Initiative New York State Roundtable Discussion on Managing Unused Pharmaceuticals May 15, 2008. Notes of the proceedings. Representatives of MassDEP attended this conference. |
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