The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7388 p192
18 February 2006

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615 tonnes of medicines incinerated in 2004–05

Waste medicines accounted for 614.8 tonnes of the waste that was disposed of by incineration in England in 2004–05. This figure was released in Government statistics two weeks ago and before this week’s launch of a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs consultation on waste disposal.

Between the two came a report (PDF 520K) from the British Society for Ecological Medicine that called for a freeze on the number of incinerators because of health risks. The report says that studies have shown higher rates of cancer and birth defects around municipal waste incinerators consistent with a causal relationship. It adds that epidemiological studies support this interpretation and suggest that the range of illnesses produced by incinerators may be much wider.

DEFRA’s consultation favours an increase in incineration as one of two ways of producing energy from waste and dismisses the fears.

It states: “An independent health impacts review has concluded that on the evidence so far, the treatment of municipal solid waste has at most a minor effect on health.”