Medicine Going Green by Angelica Acosta

How is the medical industry going green and how can we get involved with it.

Forget about the toxic lead-lined MRI suites, and do not throw to the wind the outdated CT systems. Squash the frustration for those MRI bulbs that burn out and take far too long to replace. Medical imaging is going “green,” and several new technologies are poised to enhance the medical imaging and healthcare industry.

Hospitals for Healthy Environment:

Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) is an independent and not surprisingly non-for-profit organization that promotes environmental sustainability in the health care industry. H2E was founded in 1998 with agreements among four organizations (EPA, American Nurses Association, American Hospital Association, and Health Care Without Harm) with the goal of eliminating mercury, reducing chemical waste, and reducing the health care industries overall waste volume. The organization helps hospitals reduce their environmental footprint, from reducing the use of toxic chemicals like carpet glues and PVC to increasing recycling efficiency and disposal of unwanted electronic equipment.

H2E has 1600 hospital partners and it has also teamed up with the “Green Guide to Healthcare,” a sustainable design toolkit for integrating environmental principles and practices into health care. practicegreenhealth.org


Green Shielding Solutions, a maker of radiology shielding products, is a leading example of a manufacturer operating green. They have partnered with imaging machine component makers Thogus Products and Vulcan Global Manufacturing Solutions to develop tungsten-filled polymer shielding products and parts for medical imaging machines. Tungsten is a brittle metal with a very high melting point and equivalent specific gravity and thickness as lead WITHOUT the toxicity.




Green Practices Thogus:

Lead is ranked number two on the U.S. government’s Top 20 Hazardous Substances List. It is toxic to humans and wildlife. At Thogus, we’re doing our part to support the environment by replacing toxic lead components in machinery and other uses with more environmentally friendly plastics.




Green Guide for Health Care:

The Green Guide for Health Care is a superb resource. It helps the leaders and managers of health care institutions "walk the talk," promoting the health of patients, visitors, employees, community members, and the global community, while operating economically and efficiently. I hope that every medical center, hospital, and clinic in the nation gets a copy of the Green Guide, takes its lessons to heart, and joins the growing movement toward healthier, more environmentally friendly environments in the health care sector.

How to Support the Green Guide

The Green Guide for Health Care welcomes support of its continued efforts through several options: Supporters, Partners, and Endorsers. Supporters, Partners and Endorsers affirm the intent and principles of the document (see the ASHE Green Healthcare Construction Guidance Statement - Statement of Principles) while not expressly endorsing every strategy or credit.
Contact info@gghc.org for further information about opportunities to support the GGHC.


Howard Frumkin, M.D., Dr.P.H., FACP, FACOEM
Director
National Center for Environmental Health/
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
United States Department of Health and
Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention



Sources you can find this information at:

http://www.practicegreenhealth.org/

http://www.gghc.org/