There is a growing concern about the incidence of pharmaceuticals found in aquatic habitats and drinking water. Operation Medicine Cabinet is an effort to educate the community about how to properly dispose of unused medications and the potential consequences when people fail to dispose of them properly. “Pharmaceuticals get into the water supply via human excretion and via the many residents that simply flush unused or expired medications down their toilet,” says Deborah Comella, executive director of Drug-Free Lee, which offers Deterra drug deactivation disposal bags for free from her office at The Collaboratory, in Fort Myers, or at Lee County Coalition for a Drug-Free Southwest Florida.

Operation Medicine Cabinet-Lee County

Operation Medicine Cabinet-Lee County is supported by the United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades County and is raising awareness of the importance of disposing of unused and expired pharmaceuticals using the Deterra bags. “The activated carbon in the bags, which can be disposed of in the trash, is highly effective at firmly binding to the active ingredients in prescription and over-the-counter medications, rendering them inert, unavailable for misuse and safe for disposal in the normal trash,” says Comella.

The disposable bags have been lab-tested and proven to deactivate leftover prescriptive or over-the-counter medications no matter the form—pills, liquid, creams, films, and patches—permanently and irreversibly. They also deactivate dangerous narcotics such as opioids and psychoactive medications such as ketamine.

Operation Medicine cabinet is also active in Collier County, and the 13 permanent drop-off sites are listed on the DrugFreeCollier.org website.

Pharmaceuticals in Seafood

According to the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) website, a three-year study by Florida International University (FIU) and BTT, pharmaceutical contaminants have been discovered in the blood and other tissues of bonefish found in Florida waters. The study began in 2018 with FIU scientists and BTT research associates in partnership with Sweden’s Umeå University and the University of Agricultural Sciences. Researchers sampled 93 fish in South Florida, finding an average of seven pharmaceuticals per bonefish, and even 17 pharmaceuticals in a single fish.

The list includes blood pressure medications, antidepressants, prostate treatment medications, antibiotics and pain relievers. Researchers also found pharmaceuticals in bonefish prey—crabs, shrimp and fish—suggesting that many of Florida’s valuable fisheries are exposed, and not only in the bonefish fishery. Posing a formidable threat to fisheries, the pharmaceuticals threaten human health.

Allini Water Filters

Allini Water Filters, in Naples, notes other types of contaminants that science and new technologies are finding in water, making it necessary for Florida residents to protect themselves with water filters in homes and businesses. Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has in place unenforceable water quality goals and enforceable drinking water standards (MCL), which means a concentration of a contaminant that does not pose any known health risk to humans. Of the 85,000 industrial chemicals used in the U.S., only 24 of the new contaminants have been considered for regulation since 1996, and none have been regulated in the last 20 years. MCLGs and MCLs are established with the best of intentions to monitor and regulate water pollution effects to keep individuals safe and healthy.

Allini’s website notes that the frequent discrepancy between the guideline (MCLG) and the enforceable standard (MCL) indicates that other factors play a significant role. The legal goals and limits set are most times determined by economic and political factors to reduce costs.

For more information on Operation Medicine Cabinet, call Drug-Free Lee at 239-560-1929 or Drug-Free Collier at 239-302-6717. For more information on water filters, call Allini Water Filters at 239-451-4393 or visit OrganicWaterSystems.com.