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Articles
Can
Environmental Purchasing Reduce Mercury in U.S. Health Care?
(*Note: Hollie Shaner of NIHE assisted in this article.).
Abstract
Environmental purchasing represents an innovative approach to mercury control
for the health care sector in the United States. The U.S. health care sector creates
significant environmental impacts, including the release of toxic substances such
as mercury. Our goal in this study was to provide the health care industry with
a method of identifying the environmental impacts associated with the products
they use. The Health Care Environmental Purchasing Tool (HCEPT) was developed
and tested at nine health care facilities in the Great Lakes region of the United
States. As a result, more than 1 kg of mercury was removed from four facilities.
The complexity of the supply chain inhibits a direct environmental information
exchange between health-care decision makers and suppliers. However, a dialogue
is starting within the health care supply chain to address environmental issues.
The HCEPT has been shown to assist health care facilities with that dialogue by
identifying products that have environmental consequences. This promising tool
is now available for further experimentation and modification, to facilitate overall
environmental improvement, and to provide a systematic method for environmental
assessment of health care products. Key words: air pollution, environmental purchasing,
green purchasing, health care, hospitals, mercury, pollution, purchasing, United
States, waste management. Environ Health Perspect 110:847-851 (2002). [Online
17 July 2002]
View
the entire article here.
Reuse
An article on reusable products, reprinted by permission of OR Manager.
Eleven Recommendations for Improving Medical Waste
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Online
publication
of
Physicians
for
Social
Responsibility
Mercury
in
Medical
Facilities
Eliminating
Mercury
in
Healthcare
(USEPA)
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