[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 137 (Thursday, September 15, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1639-E1640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PHARMACEUTICAL STEWARDSHIP ACT OF 2011

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 15, 2011

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Pharmaceutical 
Stewardship Act of 2011.
  Across the country, unused and expired pharmaceuticals are polluting 
our water ways, poisoning our children, and putting our public safety 
at risk. Americans should have a convenient and safe option when they 
want to rid their cabinets of unused drugs. The pharmaceutical 
stewardship bill I introduced today would ensure that these drugs are 
kept out of drinking water and out of the hands of both criminals and 
unsuspecting children.
  The need for a safe drug disposal program has never been greater. In 
a 2008 investigation, pharmaceutical contamination was found in 24 out 
of 28 metropolitan areas' drinking water. Over 50 pharmaceuticals or 
byproducts were found in the Philadelphia source watershed alone.
  Unlike the citizens of approximately a dozen other countries, 
Americans do not have a convenient and consistent place to bring their 
medications. Without a drug take back program, pharmaceuticals are 
frequently diverted to purposes for which they were not intended.
  The results can be deadly. Unguarded, unused pharmaceuticals can 
cause accidental poisonings, be misused, or diverted for criminal 
purposes.
  Every fifteen minutes, a child under four will overdose on drugs 
found at home. In 2011, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported 
that unintentional prescription opioid overdoses now kill more 
Americans than cocaine and heroin combined. In Florida, the death rate 
for prescription drugs increased 84 percent.
  Without safe disposal options, our most vulnerable and unsuspecting 
citizens are in the bull's eye of a proliferating pharmaceutical black 
market. The elderly are at risk of violent home break-ins, scams, and 
death as prescription drug addicts seek to steal their medications.
  Drug thieves also target `open house' events and ask to use the 
bathroom in order to have access to the medicine cabinet. The problem 
is so rampant that realtors in Ohio are given medication lockboxes to 
store medications during open houses and the National Association of 
Realtors recommends hiding all prescription medications during open 
houses.
  Americans who want to reduce the threat to their health and safety 
posed by leftover prescription medications have few options.
  Federal agencies from the Office of National Drug Control Policy to 
the Drug Enforcement Agency are encouraging Americans to use secure 
medicine take-back programs to return drugs for environmentally sound 
disposal. But these programs are too few and far between, and 
communities are struggling to provide them. Because secure take-back 
programs are not widely available, the FDA currently recommends that 
the most toxic and addictive substances be flushed down the toilet and 
into the wastewater system. When take-back programs are not available, 
federal agencies are forced to advise that all other unwanted pills 
should be mixed with undesirable substances in an attempt to prevent 
theft and then thrown in the trash for delivery to the landfill.
  The current disposal methods are inadequate and even dangerous. A 
mother with Crohn's disease was prescribed an opioid patch 100 times 
stronger than morphine but she was afraid her plumbing could not handle 
the used patch so she threw it away. Her 4-year old died after finding 
and applying the patch from the trash.
  Furthermore, pharmaceuticals disposed in the trash or down the drain 
reach our nation's waterways and our drinking water.
  In 2002, the United States Geological Survey found that 80 percent of 
streams and 93 percent of groundwater was contaminated with at least 
one pharmaceutical. In 2008, an investigation found that at least 46 
million Americans are exposed to prescription drugs through their 
drinking water. Others are exposed when food crops are fertilized with 
polluted biosolids and absorb pharmaceuticals through the roots to the 
plant itself. Perhaps even more frightening is that the current extent 
of pharmaceutical pollution is unknown and understudied.
  Aquatic organisms and indeed whole ecosystems can never escape this 
witches brew of pharmaceuticals. The USGS recently reported the 
widespread sexual disruption in fish across the United States. Of the 
many compounds in the pharmaceutical slurry that

[[Page E1640]]

aquatic organisms swim in, estrogens are particularly concerning. In a 
review of the literature, fish were found to be particularly 
susceptible to these endocrine disrupting chemicals. Intersexed fish 
are found around the nation and even at a wastewater treatment plant in 
the Nation's Capital. In this District of Columbia study, female eggs 
were found in over 80 percent of the small mouth bass male reproductive 
organs.
  Unused and expired pharmaceuticals are a threat to our homes, 
families, communities, and the environment. Sporadic take back events 
are not sufficient. DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart recently 
stated that the 309 tons of pills collected at two recent community-
funded take-back events ``represents a clear need for a convenient way 
to rid homes of unwanted or expired prescription drugs.''
  Public safety organizations and medical organizations have called for 
expanded drug takeback programs. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association 
(BCBSA) senior vice president and chief medical officer, Allan Korn, 
M.D., stated that ``Unused prescription medicines that remain in homes 
can be misused or abused if they get in the wrong hands of children, 
family or friends,'' and commended, ``providing a safe and easy way for 
Americans to drop off their unnecessary prescription drugs.''
  The bill I introduce today would help solve these serious 
environmental, public health, and public safety concerns by providing 
Americans with a convenient way to safely dispose of their 
pharmaceuticals. Producer responsibility and stewardship is the 
backbone of this legislation. Simply put, producers must take 
responsibility for their product beyond the initial manufacture and 
sale. By establishing a national drug take back program financed by 
producers, this legislation will help reduce the supply of unused 
medications across the country and prevent the entry of pharmaceuticals 
into the water supply.
  In addition, this legislation establishes a commission of 
stakeholders to investigate risks, causes, and potential solutions of 
pharmaceutical contaminants in the environment and waterways. Using 
this information, the Commission will develop a strategy that will 
prevent pharmaceutical contaminants from polluting our waterways and 
environments from cradle-to-grave.
  Without a safe means of disposing our pharmaceuticals, we risk our 
public health, our public safety, and our environment. We cannot wait 
any longer for action.

                          ____________________