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DETERMINATION OF THE POTENTIAL FOR ANAEROBIC DEGRADATION OF UNUSED PHARMACEUTICALS IN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS
Citation:
Musson, S. E., T. M. TOLAYMAT, AND T. G. Townsend. DETERMINATION OF THE POTENTIAL FOR ANAEROBIC DEGRADATION OF UNUSED PHARMACEUTICALS IN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE LANDFILLS. Presented at Air And Waste Management Association (AWMA), Portland, OR, June 23 - 27, 2008.
Impact/Purpose:
To determine if six pharmaceutical compounds would undergo anaerobic degradation when using a respirometric test procedure based on standard test methods and direct analytical measurement.
Description:
For many years the recommended method of disposal for unused household medications was the sewage system. However, research studies have emerged showing that many pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds are not fully removed by wastewater treatment systems and enter the aquatic environment (1-6). As a result, the United States Office of National Drug Control Policy, many state environmental protection departments, and environmental groups now recommend disposal of discarded medications in municipal solid waste (7, 8). Additionally, a growing number of discarded medication collection programs have emerged nationally to divert medications primarily to incineration as the final disposal method. However, despite these new policies meager research has been completed concerning the occurrence and fate of unused medications in landfills. Landfill disposal may result in pharmaceutical compounds within landfill leachate, which is often treated using conventional waste water treatment plants, the very system the new disposal recommendations are attempting to avoid. The objective of the research was to determine the potential for anaerobic degradation of six pharmaceutical compounds using a respirometric test procedure based on standard test methods and direct analytical measurement. These anaerobic degradation results were then compared to the predicted degradability of the compounds by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency anaerobic degradation model. The results of the test provide information on the fate of these compounds upon disposal within a MSW landfill.