Best Management Practices for Unused Pharmaceuticals at Health Care Facilities - Draft for Public Comment

Pharmaceuticals are being discovered in our nation's waters at very low concentrations. While the sources of these pharmaceuticals may be numerous, EPA has been studying unused pharmaceutical disposal practices at health care facilities. This study was prompted by the concern that potentially large amounts of pharmaceuticals are being flushed or disposed of down the drain, ultimately ending up in rivers, streams and coastal waters.

The Agency has drafted a guidance document for health care facilities, which describes:

• techniques for reducing or avoiding pharmaceutical waste
• practices for identifying and managing types of unused pharmaceuticals, and
• applicable disposal regulations.

The guidance is targeted at hospitals, medical clinics, doctors’ offices, long-term care facilities and veterinary facilities. EPA expects that this document will help reduce the amount of pharmaceuticals that are discharged to water bodies.

EPA has visited many facilities and consulted with organizations in the health care industry, as well as federal, state and local government agencies. EPA continues to solicit recommendations from a wide range of stakeholders and welcomes comments on the draft document. We plan to publish a final version of the document in 2011.

You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.

Documents

• Announcement of Draft Document Availability - Federal Register Notice | Print Version (PDF) (1 pp, 48K) (September 8, 2010)
• Fact sheet
• Guidance Document:  Best Management Practices for Unused Pharmaceuticals at Health Care Facilities - Draft (PDF) (43 pp, 328K)

Public Comments

Please send comments on the draft guidance by November 8, 2010 to: unusedpharms@epa.gov

or in writing to:
Meghan Hessenauer
Engineering and Analysis Division (4303T)
US EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460

Comments received after this date may not be incorporated into the final document.

Additional Information

Meghan Hessenauer, hessenauer.meghan@epa.gov or 202-566-1040.

Background Documents

• Health Care Industry Unused Pharmaceuticals Detailed Study 2007-2009 Data Collection and Outreach (PDF) (17 pp, 164K) (September 2009)
• Interim Report on Unused Pharmaceuticals in the Health Care Industry (PDF) (17 pp, 409K) August 2008 [c2]