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According to an American Press investigation, U.S. hospitals and long-term-care facilities annually flush millions of pounds of unused pharmaceuticals down the drain, adding infection into America's drinking water. These discarded medicines are generally expired, spoiled or unused. Only 5,700 hospitals keep data of the unused medicines and waste they generate. The medicines that are flushed in the drinking water are affecting not only 46 Americans but are also harming fishes, frogs and other aquatic species.

At a state prison in Oak Park Heights, Minn., Nurse Linda Peterson says the hospital unit serving inmates statewide has been throwing away up to 12,000 pills a year. She says some heart medicines and antibiotics are simply dumped into the trash. Environmental professional say that burning discarded medicines is the best solution. There are several experimental technologies, such as destroying drugs with an electrical arc, microwaves or caustic chemicals. Health professional are gradually getting serious about this matter and are taking strict actions against it.

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