AMA Urges Precautionary Principle

In an effort to curb pollution from medical waste, the Minnesota delegation of the American Medical Association proposed a policy that would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to increase studies on the public health impact of discarded pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) on the nation’s drinking supplies. In addition, this policy would require the EPA to develop guidelines for physicians and the public for the proper disposal of these products.

Pharmaceuticals are developed to be effective in low doses. Current research proves that the presence of low-dose pharmaceuticals in our waterways affects the reproductive health of diverse aquatic life (see Symbiosis 4.1 There is Medicine in These Waters ). Although researchers predict the doses found in the waterways are too low for human impact, the long-term effects are currently unclear. Pharmaceutical research does not address subtle physical changes in humans from low-dose drugs, therefore the possible effects on human life are less obvious and long-term consequences cannot yet be determined.

Although there is no evidence that these chemicals pose a major health hazard for the public or the environment, the Minnesota delegation of the AMA is promoting the Precautionary Principle by focusing research on reducing the consequences of PPCPs before they pose a risk to a larger population.

This precautionary policy encourages the EPA to work with relevant stakeholders such as pharmaceutical companies and retailers, state and specialty health care and environmental societies, and public health organizations to develop the new pollution prevention guidelines. The AMA House of Delegates seeks to achieve high-quality and cost-effective health care by providing patients with adequate advice on pharmaceutical and personal care product disposal to reduce pollution from medical waste. Current Minnesota state agency recommendations for pharmaceutical waste dispersal include destroying the drugs in liquid like water, or wrapping them tightly in a plastic container and throwing them in the trash.

This movement toward a medical system that holds its practitioners and its technologies responsible for its impact on the environment is parallel with the work of the Teleosis Institute. Through its Green Health Care Program, participating health care providers are coached to deliver health care that is non-toxic, non-polluting, and protective of environmental health.

To learn more visit the Minnesota Medical Association at http://www.mmaonline.net