Public Water Supply District No. 2 of Jackson County, Missouri & the Raytown Police Department is sponsoring a Prescription Drug Take-Back Event on April 27, 2013, at Apple Market on 75th & Raytown Road and the City Hall Parking Lot at 10000 E 59th Street.
The public may drop off outdated prescription drugs from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
The Missouri Rural Water Association (MRWA) is working in conjunction with drinking water utilities around the State of Missouri in an attempt to lessen the environmental impact of these pharmaceuticals.
National research indicates that 46 million Americans consume water contaminated with prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Missouri was one of 24 states where water samples from underground aquifers were tested and found to contain pharmaceuticals.
Concern about the possible human health effects of these drugs is behind the counter-offensive launched by your local water utility and the MRWA. “The way to reverse the trend is to eliminate contaminating our drinking water sources by properly disposing of pharmaceutical drugs”, says MRWA Management Circuit Rider, Larry VanGilder.
But who’s contaminating drinking water sources? You might be surprised to learn that you could be unintentionally fouling the waters! If you dispose of prescription drugs by throwing them into a trashcan or flushing them down the toilet, your actions could be having an adverse effect on the environment.
Solid waste thrown into trash receptacles eventually makes its way into a landfill, where these pills and other medicines can leach into the ground. From there, they can contaminate underground aquifers, which provide drinking water for communities and individuals.
With each flush, the toilet sends waste into either a private septic tank or a centralized wastewater collection system. The septic tank, like the landfill, potentially allows medications to contaminate ground water sources. The centralized wastewater system returns its treated water back to receiving streams and tributaries. These treatment facilities are unable, with today’s technology, to remove pharmaceuticals from water.
The only way to properly dispose of unused drugs is to incinerate them. This is the task of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. Collection sites, with the help of local law enforcement, deliver these waste products to the proper authorities for disposal.
During the last event held September 29, 2012, 17,208 pounds of pharmaceutical drugs were collected in Missouri. All pharmaceutical drugs collected were taken to a DEA facility and incinerated.
“Having these drug take back events on a regular basis each year provides the people of Missouri the opportunity to properly dispose of unwanted pharmaceuticals and greatly contribute to preserving the quality of water bodies we all enjoy and depend on for our basic needs and for recreation,” says Larry VanGilder, Management Circuit Rider for MRWA.
Public Water Supply District No. 2, the Raytown Police Department and the MRWA encourage you to take part in the April 27th Prescription Drug Take-Back Event!
Contact:
Larry VanGilder, Management Circuit Rider
Missouri Rural Water Association
417-337-1999 (cell)
lvangilder@moruralwater.org
Or… your local drinking water utility representative:
Patrick Ertz at (816) 353-5550 or by email: pwsd2@pwsd2.org.
Police are looking for 45-year-old Rufus Dean, who has not been seen since March 30, 2013. His last known location was 77th and Agnes. He is a black male with black hair and brown eyes who is about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 135 pounds. He drives a teal Chevrolet Malibu. If you know where he is, call the KCPD Missing Persons Section, and please tell him to contact his family.
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