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Politics & Government

Bethesda Participates in National Drug Take Back Day

Turn in old prescription drugs on Oct. 29 and keep them out of the Potomac River.

Are the chemicals in old prescription drugs polluting our rivers?

To help make sure this isn't happening, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Montgomery County Police Department will hold National Drug Take Back Day on Oct. 29 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Residents can safely and confidentially dispose of all old prescription drugs at any of the six district police stations located in Rockville, Bethesda, Silver Spring, Wheaton, Germantown and Montgomery Village. Nationwide, almost 4,000 agencies participated in the two previous Drug Take Back Days, collecting more than 309 tons of pills.

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The Food and Drug Administration recommends disposing of prescription drugs in the toilet or trash, but its policy does not consider the environmental effects of pharmaceuticals.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, prescription drugs can break down and seep into waterways, creating a cocktail of trace chemicals so small that they cannot be completely removed by waste water treatment.

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No human health effects have yet been reported due to the presence of these pollutants in drinking water, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has linked cosmetic and pharmaceutical pollutants to hormone imbalances and genetic mutations in Potomac River fish.

Intersex fish — fish with both male and female characteristics — were discovered in the Potomac River in 2003, according to Potomac Riverkeeper, a local group that has studied the influence of chemicals in the Potomac for the last eight years.

In 2009, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that between 83 and 100 percent of all Potomac smallmouth bass had altered genders.

The Potomac River supplies water to about 86 percent of the 6.11 million residents living in the Potomac River Basin. It’s still not certain how these chemicals affect humans, but Ted Adams, program director for the Potomac Riverkeeper, says it is the time to find out.

“They’re not the single biggest threat right now, but the invisible chemicals are one of our biggest growing concerns, so let’s not wait 30 years to make connections,” he said.

Adams encourages everyone to participate in Drug Take Back Day.

“It’s a way for people to connect with the Potomac as the source of their drinking water,” Adams said. “And the best drinking water comes from a healthy river.”

Potomac Riverkeeper has created a Google map of local Drug Take Back collection sites.

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