Drugs in our drinking water?
5-31
By Stacey Creasy
Pilot News
Placing medicines into natural waterways is contaminating the local environment, according to county and state health departments.
�Some communities are literally finding prescription medicines in their drinking water,� said Mike Good, Director of the Marshall County Solid Waste District.
For decades the common practice for some people is to flush or wash old/unwanted prescription drugs down the drain. Good said the problem is treatment plants are not able to break down the drugs, which means they are discharged into the wastewater.
�Most treated wastewater blends with surface water somewhere,� Good added. �Water plants also are not equipped to handle prescription drugs. The medicine winds up in the water in some areas.�
St. Joseph County is giving area residents an alternative to dumping medicines.
Health officials say one of the worst things we could do is flush them down the toilet or throw them in the trash.
South Bend Police Captain Ed Friend says flushing them down the toilet can damage a septic system and local waterways which is why nine sites have been set up in St. Joseph County Friday and Saturday where people can drop off their old unwanted pills.
The closest site to Marshall County is the Walkerton Police Department.
Those remaining sites include:
�Harris Township Fire Dept., Elm and State Road 23.
�Mishawaka Police Dept. 200 N. Church St.
�New Carlisle Police Dept., 113 S. Arch St.
�North Liberty Police Dept., 116 N. Main St.
�Roseland Police Dept., 100 Independence Dr.
�St. Joseph County Jail, 401 Sample
�Indiana Health Center, 1901 Western, South Bend
�Osceola Police Dept., 850 Lincolnway
Medicines can be dropped off between 3-6 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. until noon on Saturdays.
Good said the verdict is still out on whether or not the new collection site for the Solid Waste District will collect medicines. Good said he is concerned about the problem. If there is any way possible to accept the old and unwanted medicines, Good is willing to give it a try.
�The Solid Waste District Board discussed it,� Good said. �They instructed me to contact our insurance carrier to see what impact it might have on our coverage. I will provide the carrier with a potential list of medicines so they can determine if there will be any impact.�
Good said if the collection site eventually accepts medicines, the drugs will be old enough to have lost their potency. The Solid Waste District may also look at a policy where controlled substances will not be accepted.
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