Pharmaceutical Disposal (Summary)

Based on the article, ‘Pharmaceutical Disposal’, Iburch (2015), states that disposing of unused medications is a common practice by many residents and hospitals in New York. Disposal methods like flushing or throwing into rivers causes water to be polluted. People practices disposal because there is no law that prevent improper disposal of pharmaceutical drugs. According to Iburch, studies found trace amounts of pharmaceutical drugs in drinking water and treatment plants are not equipped to remove pharmaceutical contaminants which is a problem treating these kind of waste. The writer states that even though pharmaceutical contamination are found in water, there is no proven health effects on human. However, he strongly assert that it is necessary to promote safe disposal options for the people so that residents and healthcare facilities will not dispose unused medications improperly. A federal law is being implemented to provide more options to safe pharmaceutical disposal.