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Florida and Texas hospitals advance their eco-friendly efforts:

Deciding where to toss a dirty diaper or how many linens to grab for a patient may seem like insignificant decisions in the midst of a busy shift, but nurses in Florida and Texas are learning the dozens of small choices they make each day can add up quickly when it comes to environmental impact.

As part of an effort to become a leader in green healthcare, Baptist Health South Florida recently launched an initiative to reduce the amount of red bag waste, or RBW, the six hospitals in the system were generating. Leaders of Baptist Health’s Green Team suspected they could reduce RBW by educating employees about what did not need to go into these bags. By law, any waste that includes blood-soaked bandages or disposable devices such as syringes should be placed into a red bag. Items containing feces, urine, vomit or sputum can go in the regular trash.

RBW produces a larger carbon footprint than other trash because it requires more energy to treat it before it is disposed of in a landfill. Baptist Health’s employees were trained in the sometimes-subtle differences between different types of waste. The result: In the past two years, the facilities within the Baptist Health system have cut down the amount of RBW by 30% to 60% per location and saved hundreds of thousands of dollars per year — not to mention the benefit to the environment.

Read the complete story at NURSE.COM where the NURSES are

Practice Greenhealth Releases Greening the OR™ Guidance Documents

Offers practical resources for reducing the OR’s environmental footprint

RESTON, Va.–(EON: Enhanced Online News)–Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading membership and networking organization for institutions in healthcare that have made a commitment to sustainable, eco-friendly practices, has released the first of a series of Greening the OR™ Best Practices Guidance Documents, now available on-line at: www.greeningtheor.org.

The Greening the OR™ Initiative was launched in May of 2010 in an effort to help the healthcare industry generate cost savings, maintain worker and patient safety and, most importantly, reduce the environmental footprint of our nation’s operating rooms.

To do this, Practice Greenhealth brought together a broad group of forward-thinking stakeholders from hospitals and healthcare systems, professional organizations, government agencies, manufacturers and vendors, and sponsors of the Greening the OR™ Initiative. The charge to all of them was to collaboratively develop a viable strategy to green the nation’s operating rooms.

These initial Guidance Documents are the result of that collaborative effort and include: the Greening the OR Checklist, for discovering where opportunities lie to establish sustainable practices; and the Business Case for Greening the OR, useful for highlighting and presenting the economic benefits of best practices.

Also included are the first in a series of Implementation Modules, resources to assist in implementing best practices in a number of areas:

• Medical Device Reprocessing
• OR Kit Reformulation
• Moving (Back) to Reusables in the OR
• Regulated Medical Waste Segregation and Minimization in the OR
• Medical Plastic Recycling in the OR
• Rigid Sterilization Containers in the OR
• Fluid Management Systems in the OR

Case Studies

Practice Greenhealth has also worked with a number of hospitals participating in the Greening the OR™ Initiative to develop the first in a series of case studies that share the experiences and successes of implementing sustainable practices within their organizations. Included in the Guidance Documents, these case studies demonstrate how these hospitals have organized and overcome barriers to successfully bring these practices into fruition:

• Metro Health Hospital, Wyoming, MI: Medical Device Reprocessing
• University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview: OR Kit Reformulation
• The University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD: Reusable Textiles in the OR
• Inova Fairfax Hospital: Regulated Medical Waste Reduction and Minimization
• Spectrum Health, Grand Rapids, MI: Medical Plastics Recycling in the OR
• MetroWest Medical Center, Natick & Framingham, MA: Rigid Sterilization Containers for Surgical Instrumentation
• North Suburban Medical Center, Thornton, CO: Fluid Management in the OR
• Providence St. Peter Hospital, Olympia WA: Energy Efficiency in the OR–HVAC Setback Program

Operating rooms are some of the most resource-intensive and waste generating places in a hospital, generating between 20 and 30 percent of a facility’s waste. Much of that waste is disposed of as regulated medical waste, which costs 10 to 15 times more in disposal fees than regular waste. Half of budgets for operating rooms are generally spent on supplies that are thrown out, being used once or not at all during procedures, even though re-use may be an option. Likewise, it is a huge cost-center for materials, devices and supplies. Consequently, ORs are one of the biggest waste generators in a hospital.

Practice Greenhealth is committed to working with Greening the OR™ partners and participating hospitals to provide the data, tools and resources necessary to substantiate these best practices as a critical step to widespread adoption across the sector.

For more information about the program, including webinars, seminars, and stakeholder involvement, as well as how to join the Greening the OR Initiative, please visit our website: www.greeningtheor.org

 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced plans to improve its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program as part of an ongoing effort initiated in 2009 to strengthen the program. IRIS is a publicly available on-line database that provides high quality science-based human health assessments used to inform the agency’s decisions on protecting public health and the environment

“Decision makers rely on the IRIS program for accessible, science-based health assessments of environmental contaminants,” said Paul Anastas, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “Further strengthening the IRIS program is part of EPA’s commitment to continuous improvement and ensuring we use the best possible science to protect human health and the environment.”

The improvements announced today will make IRIS even stronger. All new IRIS assessment documents will be shorter, clearer and more visual, concise, and transparent. IRIS users can expect to see a reduced volume of text and increased clarity and transparency of data, methods, and decision criteria. Documents will be rigorously edited to eliminate inconsistencies and address redundancies and will include more graphical and tabular representations of data. Related discussions will also be consolidated into concise narrative descriptions.

To make the scientific rationale behind the assessments and toxicity values as transparent as possible, EPA will evaluate and describe the strengths and weaknesses of critical studies in a more uniform way. EPA will also indicate which criteria were most influential in evaluating the weight of the scientific evidence supporting its choice of toxicity values.

The latest actions are in direct response to recommendations received on April 8, 2011, from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

EPA is working closely with the agency’s Science Advisory Board on how to bring to bear its expertise on an ongoing basis to focus on the quality, transparency and scientific rigor of IRIS assessments and guide EPA’s response to the NAS recommendations.

EPA will also create a new peer consultation step early in the development of major IRIS assessments to enhance the input of the scientific community as assessments are designed.

In 2009, EPA implemented an improved IRIS process to ensure scientific quality, integrity, transparency, and the timeliness of EPA’s efforts to manage chemical risks.

The process now includes a streamlined review schedule, ensuring that the majority of assessments will be finalized within two years of their start date, opportunities for input from EPA scientists, federal agency reviewers, and the public, and greater transparency by making the scientific studies used to develop assessments available through the Health and Environmental Research Online database.

The IRIS database includes more than 540 chemical substances, containing crucial information about how they impact human health. Combined with exposure information, governments and private entities use IRIS to help characterize the public health risks of chemical substances, thereby supporting risk management decisions designed to protect public health.

More information about IRIS: http://www.epa.gov/iris/

Information about the IRIS process: http://www.epa.gov/iris/process.htm

Three major plastics trade associations have formed a collaboration to promote adoption of the material and increase use of energy recovery in manufacture, among other aims.

The Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council, the Canadian Plastics Industry Association and SPI:  The Plastics Industry Trade Association will broaden their collaboration on key industry priorities through the newly formed North American Plastics Alliance (NAPA).

The initial priorities for the alliance will be:

• Energy Recovery: Promotion and facilitation of energy recovery and conversion of used plastics  to complement recycling
• Plastics Favorability: Increasing the favorability of plastics with key stakeholders
• Advocacy: Targeted advocacy with policy makers to support the growth of the plastics industry
• Pellet Containment: Extension of Operation Clean Sweep, which aims to prevent resin pellets from entering the waste stream and oceans, where they can be eaten by wildlife.

A Steering Team with member and staff representatives from each association will direct the collaborative programs and initiatives of the alliance. It will be led by SPI president and CEO Bill Carteaux;  Steve Russell, vice president of plastics at the American Chemistry Council; and Greg Wilkinson, interim president and CEO at the Canadian Plastics Industry Association.

Read the complete story at Environmental Leader

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed that companies be required to report new uses of 14 chemicals known as glymes, currently used in a wide variety of applications including ink, paints, adhesives, batteries and vehicle braking systems.

The agency says that additional uses of glymes could lead to harmful reproductive and developmental health effects.

The proposed regulatory procedure is called a significant new use rule (SNUR), under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The SNUR would ensure that, before the chemicals are manufactured, imported or processed for their new use, the EPA will have 90 days to evaluate potential risks, and will have the ability to prohibit or limit these activities.

The proposed action is part of a recent EPA effort to strengthen its chemical management program.

Read the complete story at Environmental Leader

WASHINGTON – Today in Atlanta, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced that EPA is awarding more than $6.2 million in national environmental workforce development and job training grants to 21 grantees to recruit, train, and place unemployed, predominantly low-income residents in polluted areas. Administrator Jackson was joined by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed at the press conference where the two highlighted the impact the investment will have on five targeted low-income Atlanta neighborhoods that will benefit from funding and training under the grant program.
“These job training grants are not just helping to create good jobs, they’re helping create good, green jobs that protect the health of local families and residents and prepare communities for continued economic growth. We’re looking to the people and community organizations who know these areas best to find the places where green jobs and environmental protection are going to do the most good,” said EPA Administrator Jackson. “Creating good green jobs proves that we don’t have to choose between cleaning up our air and our water or creating jobs in our communities. We’re showing that it’s possible to do both at the same time.”

“‪‪Today marks a great day for the city and for the future of workforce development in Atlanta,” said Mayor Reed. “Congratulations to the Center for Working Families on being awarded this grant. I also want to thank EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson for making this important announcement in Atlanta. The EPA’s focus on developing more green jobs is in lock-step with my administration’s priorities, and will helps us to build a green workforce and create sustainable jobs.”

Since 1998, EPA has awarded more than $35 million under the Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Program.  As of May 2011, more than 6,683 individuals have been trained through the program, and more than 4,400 have been placed in full-time employment in the environmental field with an average starting hourly wage of $14.65. The development of this green workforce will allow the trainees to develop skills that will make them competitive in the construction and redevelopment fields.

Graduates of the program are equipped with skills and certifications in various environmental fields including lead and asbestos abatement, environmental site sampling, construction and demolition debris recycling, energy auditing and weatherization, as well as solar panel installations and green building techniques.  Graduates use these skills to improve the environment and people’s health while supporting economic development in their communities. The program has also trained and helped employ residents in the Gulf Coast responding to and cleaning up the BP oil spill, revitalizing New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, and aiding in the response and clean up of the World Trade Center on 9-11.

The agency’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Program helps provide unemployed individuals with the necessary skills to secure full time, sustainable jobs that help to clean up toxic chemicals in communities, advance the country’s clean energy projects and support environmental initiatives. Trainees include hard to place residents that live in the disadvantaged communities that will benefit the most through these projects.

Twenty-one governmental entities and non-profit organizations in twenty states are receiving up to $300,000 each to train individuals in the cleanup of contaminated sites and in health and safety, while also providing training in other environmental skills, such as recycling center operator training, green building design, energy efficiency, weatherization, solar installation, construction and demolition debris recycling, emergency response, and native plant revegetation.

More information on environmental workforce development and job training grants: ,strong>http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/job.htm

The BULB Act — for “Better Use of Light Bulbs” — is the latest bright idea from Rep. Joe Barton, the Texas Republican who last year apologized to BPduring the Gulf oil spill and more recentlyquestioned whether there is any “medical negative” from mercury or other dangerous air pollutants.

This is a dim-watted bill. The BULB Act would repeal the federal lighting efficiency standards that Congress adopted on a bipartisan basis in its 2007 energy legislation, signed by President George W. Bush. The bill would also block any state from setting standards to cut how much juice is used by “medium screw base general service incandescent lamps.” It would even block states from setting building construction standards that incorporate efficient lighting.

The 2007 energy law ordered a make-over for the old incandescent bulb, which hadn’t much changed since the days of Thomas Edison, and which wastes billions of dollars of electricity each year. Instead of padding the bottom lines of big power companies and companies that supply coal, natural gas, and other fuels, the new standards will keep those billions in consumers’ pockets. All that wasted electricity means more pollution that kills tens of thousands of Americans each year, sickens millions more, and drives dangerous global warming.

So to cut electricity use, save consumers money, and reduce pollution, the 2007 law requires new light bulbs made starting in 2012 to use less electricity. Contrary to all the over-amped hype, the 2007 law does not ban the incandescent bulb and force everyone to use compact fluorescents. The law requires only that manufacturers make bulbs more efficient.

Read the complete article at GreenBIz

According to Gallup, more than 45% of Americans think the threat of global warming has been seriously overblown. In a previous article, I explored three reasons why so many of our fellow citizens continue to deny climate change and why this should concern the business community.  To recap, they were:  1) as a nation, we’re not adept at examining scientific research, so it’s difficult to prove the point with hard evidence; 2) our day-to-day experience makes it hard to comprehend the global scope of the problem; and 3) environmental messages often sound authoritarian, which doesn’t work in the U.S. because we don’t like being bossed around.

The global warming debate has devolved into an emotional argument, not a logical one. Emotions are incredibly difficult to change because they don’t respond to facts or logic. Once an argument becomes emotional, a person will defend his or her position to the bitter end, no matter what the evidence may be. Perhaps it’s just part of our culture; we absolutely must prove we’re right and we won’t back down. So instead of explaining the threat of global warming for the umpteenth time, I’ve stopped discussing it all together. Now I just change the subject.

The United States uses more energy than any other country in the world. While we represent just over 4% of the global population, we’re responsible for 25% of global energy consumption. The U.S. is the world’s largest economy, so it may be easy to understand why we use more energy than other countries. Examine our per capita energy consumption, however, and it becomes obvious that something is wrong.

Read the complete story at Environmental Leader