Problematika odpadnih zdravil

Po podatkih Lekarniške zbornice Republike Slovenije je bilo v preteklih dveh letih, in sicer od začetka veljave Uredbe o ravnanju z odpadnimi zdravili, zbranih 71,5 tone odpadnih zdravil. Taka zdravila na območju Republike Slovenije niso več uporabna, saj ko zdravilo zapusti lekarno, izgubi svojo sledljivost. Po veljavni zakonodaji se odpadna zdravila uničijo s sežigom v sežigalnici nevarnih odpadkov Pinus TKI d.d. v Račah. V naši nalogi smo z metodo raziskovanja želeli ugotoviti, kolikšna je ozaveščenost končnih uporabnikov zdravil o škodljivosti nepravilno odloženih odpadnih zdravil za okolje kot tudi, ali je uničenje s sežigom za okolje res najvarnejši način uničenja le-teh. Iz rezultatov ankete, izvedene večinoma med adolescenti, je razvidno, da so mladi slabo ozaveščeni o škodljivosti nepravilno odloženih odpadnih zdravil za okolje in o možnostih varnega zbiranja zdravil kot nevarnega odpadka. Ugotovili smo tudi, da je na območju Republike Sloveniji in drugod po svetu sežig najpogosteje uporabljena metoda varnega uničenja odpadnih zdravil. A tuje raziskave, opravljene v preteklih letih, kažejo, da sežigalnice v ozračje spustijo veliko človeku in okolju škodljivih emisij, zaradi česar se lahko upravičeno vprašamo: »Ali je to res najvarnejši način odstranjevanja odpadnih zdravil?«

According to the data of the Slovene Chamber of Pharmacies, 71.5 tonnes of waste medicines have been collected. The above mentioned medicines are regarded as non-usable in Slovenia since tracking and tracing is not possible once they have left the pharmacy. According to the current legislation in Slovenia, waste medicines are disposed of in the incineration plant PINUS TKI PLC in Rače. The first objective of the research paper is to explore the notion of the users’ awareness about the hazardous effects of the incorrectly disposed waste medicines, and the second one is to examine whether the disposals in incineration plants are the safest, environmentally friendly ways of disposals.The outcomes based on the questionnaires, carried out among the adolescents, indicate poor awareness of young people about the hazardous handlings with waste medicines. Apart from that, they know very little about the possibilities of the safe collection of waste. The last issue of the research paper shows that currently the safest disposal of waste medicines by incineration plants is the most common way of disposal in Slovenia or elsewhere. However, some studies recently conducted abroad indicate that emissions by incineration plants are highly hazardous to both people and the environment; therefore the handling of waste in such a way is questionable.