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No Flushing Pills Down Toilet on Cuomo's Watch
By
Sabrina Jaszi
Published Jan 19, 2010
Modified Jan 19, 2010
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By
Sabrina Jaszi
Published Jan 19, 2010
Modified Jan 19, 2010
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NYC's drinking water is touted as some of the cleanest in the nation, and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo wants to keep it that way. He's reached "groundbreaking" settlements with five facilities who were dumping and flushing their unused painkillers, antibiotics, anti-depressants and hormones down sinks and toilets that led to the NY City watershed. Two hospitals and three nursing homes are now being forced to dispose of their pharmaceutical waste properly, and pay to increase public awareness on the issue of water contamination.
The settlements require the offending parties to dispose of their drugs through waste management facilities and to immediately stop their disgusting current practices. According to the Legislative Gazette, the they'll also be required to pay fines and cover the costs incurred by the state in the investigation, and introduce pharmaceutical "take back programs" regulating proper collection and disposal of pharmaceutical wastes from people in the areas they serve. Cuomo says the settlements provide "a new model to implement immediate and sensible precautions to keep waste drugs out of the drinking water supply."
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Attorney General Andrew CUomo
attorney general cuomo
contamination
drinking water
dumping
hormones
painkillers
pharmaceutical
water
watershed
Sabrina Jaszi
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