A significant percentage of older patients experienced medication discrepancies after making the transition from hospital to home. Both patient-associated and system-associated solutions may be needed to ensure medication safety during this vulnerable period.

A screening-level risk assessment was used to identify chemicals of potential health concern emitted during the normal operation of an hypothetical stateof-the-art municipal solid waste landfill. Data on the amount of contaminants (carcinogens, non-carcinogenic systemic toxicants, odorous compounds, and particulate-bound metals) were obtained from existing facilities and used to estimate ground-level air concentrations of airborne chemicals at the point of maximum impact (property line) and at year 20 (year of maximum emissions from the landfill). Concentrations of leachate components present in the corresponding underlying aquifer were also estimated. Intakes of chemicals experienced by a series of human receptors were then computed using either single-media or multi-media algorithms. Carcinogens of concern were selected as those contributing to a lifetime excess cancer risk (LECR) greater than 10 -6 ; for non-carcinogenic systemic toxicants and odorous volatiles an Exposure Ratio (ER=intake or concentration/RfD, RfC, odor threshold) greater than 0.1 was used as cut-off. The results obtained identified a final set of air emission components (n = 25) constituted mainly of carcinogenic and Manca et al.odorous substances whereas 2 leachate components were retained. Additional analysis using more refined risk-based approaches are necessary to verify the relevance of these projections.

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