A Connor, S Milne, A Owen, G Boyle, F Mortimer (2010). Journal of Renal Care, 36(2), 68-72. Climate change is now considered to be a major global public health concern. However, the very provision of health care itself has a significant impact upon the environment. Action must be taken to reduce this impact. Water is a precious and finite natural resource. Vast quantities of high-grade water are required to provide haemodialysis. The reverse osmosis systems used in the purification process reject approximately two-thirds of the water presented to them. Therefore, around 250 litres of ‘reject water’ result from the production of the dialysate required for one treatment. This good quality reject water is lost-to-drain in the vast majority of centres worldwide. Simple methodologies exist to recycle this water for alternative purposes. We describe here a case study of the only UK renal service we know to have implemented such water-saving methodologies.
Water
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Case study and how-to guide: conserving water in haemodialysis
When the Canterbury dialysis unit updated its water purification system with the installation of a new reverse osmosis plant in 1997, it was soon apparent that large volumes of reject water were being ‘lost to drain’. Within two years, and with the help of the hospital’s Estates Department, a simple system capable of recycling 800 litres of this water per hour was installed at a cost of £15,000. The system has now been running for over ten years, saving the Trust £7,500 each year on mains water and sewerage costs. Green Nephrology programme, 2009-2010
from SHEBA on 04 January 2010 | Download | Comment on this
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Clorox decide to stop using chlorine gas in bleach.
By ending the use of chlorine gas, Clorox eliminates the risk from the use and transport of chlorine, a decision lauded by Greenpeace.
from Health & Environment on 11 November 2009 | Direct link | Comment on this
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Solar Projects Battling for Water
Construction of renewable energy projects has revealed some serious environmental issues that will have to be dealt with as we speed toward a clean energy future.
from EcoGeek on 12 November 2009 | Direct link | Comment on this
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Surgical hand scrub: lots of water wasted.
Surgical hand scrub (SHS) is an important antisepsis measure before participating in surgical operation. It reduces the risk of microbial contamination of the surgical wound by skin flora. SHS is usually performed in a scrub sink with taps that have hand operated handles. During the scrub process large volume of water is wasted. The aim of this study was to determine the volume of water used during SHS in comparison to the actual volume necessary. Ahmed A. Ann Afr Med. 2007 Mar;6(1):31-3.
from SHEBA on 01 March 2007 | Direct link | Comment on this
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Surgical scrubbing: can we clean up our carbon footprints by washing our hands?
This study aimed to investigate water use during surgical scrubbing. Two water delivery systems were assessed to see whether technological innovation can promote more ‘environmentally friendly’ scrubbing behaviour. A different tap design resulted in a net saving of 5.7 L of hot water, w600 kJ of energy and 80 g of carbon dioxide emitted per surgical scrub. Surgical scrubbing is a ubiquitous procedure performed daily in healthcare settings. A simple technological solution can reduce water and energy use by modifying hand-washing behaviour and thereby reduce the carbon footprint of surgical scrubbing. J.E.A. Somner. The Journal of Hospital Infection - Volume 70, Issue 3 (November 2008)
from SHEBA on 07 November 2008 | Direct link | Comment on this