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Just published is a comprehensive examination of sustainability and the use of pharmaceuticals in health care.  Read the summary at Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 2011, 4(2):211-232; doi: 10.1586/ecp.11.6;

“Green Pharmacy & PharmEcovigilance: Prescribing and the Planet,”  by Daughton CG and Ruhoy IS

The article is Open Access and can therefore be freely downloaded as an Acrobat PDF or accessed in HTML from these URLs: http://www.expert-reviews.com/doi/abs/10.1586/ecp.11.6 or http://www.expert-reviews.com/doi/pdf/10.1586/ecp.11.6

One of the overarching objectives in our work on pharmaceuticals as environmental contaminants has been to forge clearer linkages between environmental integrity and human health, and to foster awareness, dialog, and debate within the healthcare communities regarding the intimate connections between the environment and the practice of medicine.

Our major message is that a more sustainable system of health care can evolve simply by focusing on redesign of any of numerous aspects of the delivery of health care that serve to reduce and optimize the overall use of medications.

The paper posits that any of the numerous actions, behaviors, and customs involved with the prescribing and dispensing of drugs can be altered to: (1) reduce the incidence of leftover medications (and thereby lessen the need for disposal – which is usually done by flushing to sewers or discarding in trash) and (2) reduce the quantities of unmetabolized residues excreted or washed into sewers.  The second point is one that is almost always discounted as not feasible, but one that we maintain offers the greatest potential for minimizing the environmental burden of pharmaceutical ingredients.

Unfortunately, these are really not issues that have historically concerned most healthcare practitioners. But by using a systems-level approach, we believe a cogent and compelling argument can be advanced.

By taking actions to protect the environment, a broad spectrum of extremely important collateral benefits for health care can naturally emerge. These benefits involve systems-wide improvements in:

(i)                  the quality of health care (e.g., improved therapeutic outcomes),

(ii)                reducing healthcare costs (from lessened usage of medications), and

(iii)               reducing drug diversion and unintended poisonings (because of fewer leftovers); the latter is a major problem in the US and a great concern to the White House ONDCP.

In the final analysis, we believe that the prudent prescribing and dispensing of drugs, coupled with an enlightened understanding between consumers and physicians with respect to medication utility and use, would minimize the incidence of leftover medications – thereby largely solving the current problems surrounding drug disposal and diversion.

Also, by reduced and prudent usage (coupled with the selection of those drugs with favorable pharmacokinetics), the entry of residues (via excretion and bathing) from the intended use of medications could also be reduced.

In essence, by attempting to protect the environment from exposure to medication residues, we believe that a rare win-win can be achieved — for consumers (patients), healthcare professionals, health insurers, and the pharmaceutical industry.

Christian Daughton, Ph.D.

Chief, Environmental Chemistry Branch (on detail) Environmental Sciences Division National Exposure Research Laboratory U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

944 East Harmon

Las Vegas, NV 89119

702-798-2207

daughton.christian@epa.gov

EPA is required by the Safe Drinking Water Act to identify up to 30 unregulated contaminants for monitoring every five years and is requesting public comment on 30 contaminants until May 2, 2011. EPA will consider the public input before the list is finalized in 2012. Sampling will be conducted from 2013 to 2015 at systems serving more than 10,000 people and at 800 systems serving less than 10,000 people. For the proposed list, go to http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/ucmr/ucmr3/index.cfm.

On March 8, EPA announced the addition of 10 new hazardous waste sites and 15 proposed sites to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites, the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country. In the Mid-Atlantic region, the Dwyer Property Ground Water Plume, Elkton, Md. was added to the National Priorities List, and the Sauer Dump, Dundalk, Md. was proposed to the National Priorities List.  For information on all final and proposed sites, go to http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm

As of March 7, EPA is seeking public comment from recreational boaters and others to develop proposed regulations and management practices as an alternative to permits, to limit the pollution discharged from these vessels to protect water quality and curtail the spread of invasive species into rivers and streams. EPA is holding listening sessions in Annapolis, Md. on March 18 and April 29 and conducting webinars to inform about the Clean Boating Act.  For information on the listening sessions, contact Brian Rappoli at 202-566-1548, or e-mail cleanboaringact.hq@epa.gov For other information, go to http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/lawsguidance/cwa/vessel/CBA/about.cfm

From Environmental Leader:

Valvoline has introduced a 50 percent recycled motor oil, which will be available at retailers and through participating installers and oil change centers.

The company said that its NextGen brand of motor oil cuts down on fossil fuel use, lowering emissions and helping to ensure that used oil doesn’t make its way into the water supplies. The new product takes advantage of the latest innovative manufacturing processes, Valvoline said, to offer superior engine protection while reducing environmental impacts.

“Combining only the best base oils with the company’s award-winning additive chemistry, Valvoline has created a recycled motor oil so good, it surpasses all industry specifications and delivers 100 percent Valvoline protection,” the company said.

The oil exceeds all Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and American Petroleum Institute (API) specifications, Valvoline said. It features a proprietary Valvoline formula that received the 2010 Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Environmental Excellence in Transportation Award for reduced emissions

Valvoline is not the first company to offer recycled motor oil. Safety-Kleen began offering re-refined oil to consumers under the brand name EcoPower in 2009. The Plano, Texas-based company re-refines used oil that it collects at thousands of car dealerships, automotive retailers and quick lube facilities across North America.

Over three billion quarts of oil are used in U.S. cars and trucks each year, Valvoline said. If every American switched his or her motor oil to NextGen, more than 400 million gallons of  crude oil would be saved every year, the company said – enough oil to fill barrels laid end to end, and stretching from Los Angeles to New York and back.

NextGen will be sold in conventional, synthetic and high-mileage blends, and offered in one-quart, five-quart and one-gallon sizes.

Mercury and air toxics standards represent one of strongest health protections from air pollution since passage of Clean Air Act

WASHINGTON – In response to a court deadline, today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the first-ever national standards for mercury, arsenic and other toxic air pollution from power plants.  The new power plant mercury and air toxics standards – which eliminate 20 years of uncertainty across industry – would require many power plants to install widely available, proven pollution control technologies to cut harmful emissions of mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel and acid gases, while preventing as many as 17,000 premature deaths and 11,000 heart attacks a year. The new proposed standards would also provide particular health benefits for children, preventing 120,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms and about 11,000 fewer cases of acute bronchitis among children each year. The proposed standards would also avert more than 12,000 emergency room visits and hospital admissions and 850,000 fewer days of work missed due to illness.

This rule will provide employment for thousands, by supporting 31,000 short-term construction jobs and 9,000 long-term utility jobs.

“Today’s announcement is 20 years in the making, and is a significant milestone in the Clean Air Act’s already unprecedented record of ensuring our children are protected from the damaging effects of toxic air pollution,”  said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. “With the help of existing technologies, we will be able to take reasonable steps that will provide dramatic protections to our children and loved ones, preventing premature deaths, heart attacks, and asthma attacks.”

Toxic air pollutants like mercury from coal- and oil-fired power plants have been shown to cause neurological damage, including lower IQ, in children exposed in the womb and during early development.  The standards also address emissions of other toxic metals linked with cancer such as arsenic, chromium and nickel.  Mercury and many of the other toxic pollutants also damage the environment and pollute our nation’s lakes, streams, and fish. In addition, cutting these toxic pollutants also reduces fine particle pollution, which causes premature death, heart disease, workdays lost to illness and asthma.

“The American Lung Association applauds the release of this sensible public health measure.  When it becomes final, the cleanup rule that the EPA is putting forward today will save lives, protect the health of millions of Americans and finally bring about an action that is 20 years overdue. This must happen,” said Charles D. Connor, president and CEO of the American Lung Association.

Power plants are the largest remaining source of several toxic air pollutants – responsible for half of mercury and more than half of acid gas emissions in the United States.  In the power sector alone, coal-fired power plants are responsible for 99 percent of mercury emissions. Currently, more than half of all coal-fired power plants already deploy the widely available pollution control technologies that allow them to meet these important standards. Once final, these standards will ensure the remaining coal-fired plants, roughly 44 percent, take similar steps to decrease dangerous pollutants.

The updated standards will provide a first-ever level playing field for all power plants across the country, ensure that they play by the same rules, and provide more certainty to business.  The proposed rule provides up to 4 years for facilities to meet the standards and, once fully implemented, will prevent 91 percent of mercury in coal from being released into the air.

More than 20 years ago, the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments mandated that EPA require control of toxic air pollutants including mercury.  Since then, EPA has taken action to reduce mercury emissions from many high-emitting sources; however, there is still no national standard for mercury emissions from power plants.  Today’s announcement is long awaited, coming 11 years after EPA announced it would set such limits for power plants, and following a February 2008 court decision that struck down the previous administration’s mercury rule.  In October 2009, EPA entered into a consent decree that required a proposal to be signed by March 16, 2011, and a final rule to be completed by November 2011.

The proposed mercury and air toxics standards are in keeping with President Obama’s executive order on regulatory reform. They are based on the latest data and provide industry significant flexibility in implementation through a phased-in approach and use of already existing technologies.

The proposed standards also ensure that public health and economic benefits far outweigh costs of implementation. EPA estimates that for every dollar spent to reduce pollution from power plants, the American public and American businesses will see up to $13 in health and economic benefits. The total health and economic benefits of this standard are estimated to be as much as $140 billion annually.

Also in keeping with the president’s executive order, the proposed standard puts a premium on important input and feedback from stakeholders to inform any final standard.  The public comment period, which will last 60 days after appearing in the Federal Register, will allow stakeholders including the public, industry and public health communities, to provide important input and feedback, ensuring that any final standard maximizes public health benefits while minimizing costs.

As part of the public comment process, EPA will also hold public hearings on this proposed rule. Additional details on these events will be announced at a future date.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/airquality/powerplanttoxics/

The Nevada Pesticide Discharge permitting program was designed for electronic Notice of Intent NOI submissions. Anyone seeking coverage under general NPDES permit NVG870001 shall apply electronically – unless a waiver is requested and granted in writing by the Division.

The Clean Water Act provides that the discharge of pollutants to Waters of the United States from any point source is prohibited, unless the discharge is in compliance with an NPDES permit. NVG870001 was developed in response to a decision by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (National Cotton Council, et al. v. EPA); this decision designated the application of pesticides a “point source”. This decision vacated the EPA’s 2006 policy stating that NPDES permits were not required for applications of pesticides to Waters of the U.S.; this Court’s decision also established that pesticide discharges to Waters of the U.S. requires a NPDES permit.

The federal regulations allow Nevada, a delegated State, to issue General Permits to regulate discharges of pollutants to Waters of the U.S.; General Permit NVG870001 will regulate these discharges and will be valid throughout Nevada, except on Tribal Lands. Monitoring requirements are intended to ensure there is no adverse impact to Waters of the U.S.. The court’s mandate will take effect on April 9th, 2011.

NVG870001 does not authorize discharges of pesticides or their degradates to waters already impaired by these specific pesticides or their degradates.

Nevada NPDES General Pesticide Factsheet & Permit

• NVG870001 Public Notice:
• NVG870001 Factsheet:
• NVG870001 Permit: [21 pages]

Are you being held hostage by your recycling diversion rate? As more and more companies begin to measure their recycling efforts, this figure is often used as the only performance indicator for recycling. A high diversion rate is seen as an indicator of success, while a low diversion rate assumes an inefficient recycling program.

This reliance on the diversion rate has led to an increasingly skewed understanding of the real impact of recycling programs. By focusing on diversion rates, corporate green teams may be missing the full picture.

Diversion Rate Formula

First, we have to understand how the diversion rate is calculated. The diversion rate or ratio (often used interchangeably with recycling rate/ratio) is calculated as the total recyclables collected over the total waste generated (trash + recyclables), giving you the proportion of a building’s total waste that is recycled.

Depending on a number of factors, diversion rates can vary considerably regardless of actual recycling compliance levels.

Weight Matters

One of the main factors affecting diversion rate is weight. Here’s an example:

Take two buildings of the same size with the same number of floors and the same number of employees. They have the exact same recycling program and compliance levels. But building A has a low diversion rate and building B has a high diversion rate. Why? The only difference is that building A has a cafeteria and building B does not. Because cafeteria waste is heavy, Building A’s waste stream weighs more than Building B’s waste stream. So even though both buildings are recycling the same amount and generating the same amount of waste, building A has a lower diversion rate because it generates heavier waste.

Read the complete article at Environmental Leader