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14
2.
The surgery department is also a significant source of energy generation that can
benefit from energy conserving methods.
32
A.
On an overall basis, the HDO should use onsite renewable energy if
available, such as wind or solar power.
14
The HDO should complete a cost
analysis of installing and using solar power.
B.
The surgery department should ensure that if one or more ORs are not being
used, the lights should remain off.
C.
Some rooms, such as sterile storage or environmental storage closets,
should have motion sensor lights installed.
14
D.
Light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs are now available for use in OR
lighting.
14
Guideline X
The surgery department should participate with all other HDO departments in
environmentally preferable purchasing.
1.
The Hospitals for a Healthy Environment, a collaborative effort of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and American Hospital Association that leads
the support of environmentally preferable purchasing defines it as the “act of
purchasing products/services whose environmental impacts have been considered
and found to be less damaging to the environment and human health when
compared to competing products/services.”
13
A.
Environmentally preferable purchasing has a direct environmental and
public health impact in light of the studies that have shown the effects of
current waste disposal practices.
11, 36
Waste reduction is directly related to
purchasing, as most of what is purchased for the HDO eventually becomes
the waste that requires disposal.
33
B.
The Purchasing Department in collaboration with the Surgery Department
should support environmentally preferable purchasing by identifying and
purchasing supplies from vendors who use environmentally friendly raw
materials and products.
16
C.
Examples of other environmentally preferable purchasing surgery
departments should support include:
(1) Use only unbleached recycled paper instead of chlorine-bleached
white paper since the manufacturing process of the latter releases
dioxins as a by-product into water supplies.
1
By using 100%
recycled paper, HDOs can decrease manufacturing energy by
44%, greenhouse gas emissions by 37%, and solid waste
emissions and water use by 50%.
35
(2)
Identify and purchase safer, more environmentally friendly
cleaning products.
(3)
Purchase products that are free of
diethylhexylphthalate
, latex and
polyvinyl chloride to decrease the incidence of allergic reactions,
eye injuries, burns, and contamination of food and water
supplies.
13, 35
(4)
Purchase reusable sharps containers instead of disposable
containers to reduce the amount of medical plastic.
28, 30
One study