How are unwanted pharmaceuticals regulated?
Some pharmaceutical wastes are classified as hazardous wastes. Others are medical waste, and still others are nonhazardous wastes. Which category a discarded pharmaceutical falls into depends on its chemical, physical, and toxicological properties and who generates the waste. Hazardous Properties of Pharmaceutical Wastes and Personal Care Products A discarded pharmaceutical may be identified as a hazardous waste in California if it appears on a regulatory list of hazardous wastes or exhibits one of four hazardous characteristics. Listed hazardous wastes include epinephrine, nitroglycerin, and many chemotherapy agents (40CFR Part 261). Characteristics that make a waste a hazardous waste include: • Ignitability (examples include formulations with more than 24% alcohol, collodion, and oxidizers such as potassium permanganate and silver nitrate), • Corrosivity (having a pH less than 2 or greater than 12.5), • Reactivity (one example is nitroglycerin, which is generally exempt from federal
