Greening healthcare

Chemicals

Avoiding PVC Use in Hospitals: EEN and HCWH joint publication

Healthcare patients, especially children, may be at risk from the use of medical devices made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, which contain DEHP. Known as a reproductive toxin, DEHP causes birth defects and infertility in animal studies. Because DEHP does not bind to the PVC matrix, it can leach out of the medical device into the liquid transferred to the patients body. Despite the fact that non-PVC medical devices are readily available on the market, many hospitals are still (...)

Non-incineration medical waste treatment technologies in Europe

Until recently, incineration was the almost exclusive method of treating hazardous medical waste. In 1994, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Reassessment of 2,3,7,8- Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin (TCDD) and Related Compounds identified medical waste incineration as the single largest source of dioxin air pollution in the United States of America.
In 1997, the EPA promulgated regulations for existing and new incinerators, setting new emission limits. Existing incinerators had (...)

The Weight of Evidence on DEHP: a joint EEN and HCWH publication

Although DEHP (di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) is hazardous to people’s health, it is still widely used in medical devices within many European hospitals and health care facilities.
Due to the environmental health risks it brings throughout its life cycle, DEHP-softened PVC has been criticised by the scientific community, governments and NGOs for more than 10 years, and many statements exist expressing this concern. When the EU decided to classify DEHP as a health hazard and label it as (...)

More issues

CLEAN MED Europe 2006: registration open

The 2nd CLEAN MED Conference will be held in Stockholm on 29-31 May 2006. This conference gathers together health care professionals, health care managers, researchers, purchasing managers, political decision-makers and others interested in making healthcare systems ecologically sustainable.
The topics covered will be green construction, environmental impact of pharmaceuticals, pollution and health, sustainability, and green procurement. There are opportunities to participate in the (...)

Press release: Harvard study of newborns prompts demands for EU restrictions

Brussels (8 June 2005) - The European Public Health Alliance Environment Network and Health Care Without Harm are calling for immediate action following new findings that neonates in intensive care units are being exposed to much higher levels of a toxic chemical than the general public.
The move has been prompted by an alert from Health Care Without Harm, an international coalition of 435 health and environmental groups in 53 countries, following the worrying findings from the US published (...)