Drug disposal database in the works for Colo. veterinarians

Denver, Colo.

- In an effort to help veterinarians find guidance on complying with state environmental regulations, the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) decided to create a database of information about veterinary pharmaceutical disposal with the help of the state public health department.

All states should be implementing the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), says CVMA Executive Director Ralph Johnson. So the CVMA is using pharmaceutical elements listed in RCRA and the recommendations for disposal and comparing them to drugs used by Colorado veterinarians.

"We're underway in trying to create an inventory of drugs that are ordered by Colorado veterinarians and then we'll engage a firm to run that list against the RCRA," Johnson says.

The database will give veterinarians information on proper disposal of various drugs.

CVMA started to develop the database after Johnson learned the veterinary community was in the public health department's "regulatory sights" because of concern about veterinary pharmaceutical hazardous waste.

"There's a real information void, and from the regulatory standpoint, they're saying it is the waste generators' responsibility to navigate the system and figure it out," Johnson says. "We've got to roll up our sleeves and provide some resources. We're on it."The creation of the database will take about a year to complete.