Baykeeper Updates Related to Pharmaceuticals

Blog Post: January 17, 2017
Baykeeper is celebrating a new victory that will help prevent pharmaceutical contamination of San Francisco Bay. Contra Costa County recently passed an ordinance requiring drug makers to cover the cost of safe disposal of prescription medications. This law will help prevent leftover pharmaceuticals...
Column: June 2, 2015
What happens when we use consumer products like facial scrubs, toothpaste and medications? Some of them end up in San Francisco Bay. Wastewater that goes down your toilet, sink and shower drain is sent to a wastewater treatment plant that removes many toxic pollutants. But some contaminants are not...
Page: May 27, 2015
When leftover medications are flushed down the toilet or washed down the sink, they are sent to a wastewater treatment plant. Sewage treatment removes many toxic pollutants, but not medications, which then enter the Bay via treated wastewater. Unused drugs thrown in the trash end up in landfills...
Blog Post: May 27, 2015
Bay Area communities are passing laws to require pharmaceutical companies to fund safe disposal of leftover medications, which will help keep drug pollution out of San Francisco Bay.  The U.S. Supreme Court recently turned down the drug industry’s challenge to the first of these laws in the nation...
Featured Stories: April 23, 2015
What happens when we use consumer products that can harm water quality and wildlife? Some of them end up in the Bay. Wastewater that goes down your toilet, sink, and shower drain is sent to a wastewater treatment plant that removes many toxic pollutants. But some contaminants are not removed, and...
Column: May 1, 2008
I have a fairly standard morning routine: I shower, wash my hair and apply moisturizer, then have breakfast. It’s an average morning that I am sure is similar to many people’s – but I’m guessing that few of us consider our morning routines to have a direct impact on local water quality. When I...
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