Global Movement for Environmentally Responsible Healthcare

QUEZON CITY-As the government pushes for a mercury-free Philippines, one international, but locally headquartered, organisation, Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), leads the country in the movement for an environmentally responsible healthcare system. What We Do "First Do No Harm"...Together with our partners around the world, HCWH shares a vision of a healthcare sector that does no harm and instead promotes the health of people and the environment. To that end, we are working to implement ecologically sound and healthy alternatives to healthcare practices that pollute the environment and contribute to disease. For example, the incineration of medical waste is a leading source of dangerous air pollutants, such as dioxin and mercury, and the use of hazardous chemicals indoors may contribute to the high rates of asthma among healthcare workers. The huge scale of the healthcare sector worldwide means that unhealthy practices-such as poor waste management, use of toxic chemicals, unhealthy food choices and reliance on polluting technologies-have a major negative impact on the health of humans and the environment. The good news is that the healthcare sector can play a leading role in solving these problems. Due to its massive buying power and its mission-driven interest in preventing disease, the healthcare sector can help shift the entire economy toward sustainable, safer products and practices. HCWH is at the centre of this work to transform the healthcare sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. Who We Are HCWH is an international coalition of hospitals and healthcare systems, medical professionals, community groups, health-affected constituencies, labor unions, environmental and environmental health organisations and religious groups. Membership in HCWH is based on an organisational commitment to the mission and goals of the campaign and a desire to participate fully in helping to achieve them. Groups that join the campaign do not need to contribute dues. HCWH does not accept financial support from manufacturers or endorse specific products. To find out how to join the Campaign, please contact us. HCWH has regional offices in Arlington, VA, Brussels, Buenos Aires and Manila. In other world regions, we work with Strategic Partners based in New Delhi, Durban, Dar es Saalam and elsewhere. The Issue: Mercury in Healthcare Mercury pollution is a serious global environmental and human health problem that causes a variety of adverse impacts throughout the world. In healthcare settings, mercury may be released from thermometers, blood pressure devices, gastrointestinal and other mercury-containing medical products. Fixatives, preservatives, lab chemicals, cleaners and other products may also contain intentionally added mercury, which, when discarded to the waste stream, result in environmental contamination. Furthermore, many building products, such as thermostats, pressure gauges and switches, also contain mercury. Fortunately, there are safe, cost-effective non-mercury alternatives for nearly all uses of mercury in healthcare. Mercury spills in hospitals, clinics and labs expose doctors, nurses, other healthcare workers and patients to elemental mercury. At room temperature, significant amounts of liquid elemental mercury transform to a gas, exposing workers or patients in the area to potentially highly toxic levels. If discarded as a waste, mercury will eventually make its way into the environment where organisms living in rivers, lakes or moist earth transform it into highly toxic organic mercury. This type of mercury that affects nerves and brains at extraordinary low levels persists and accumulates in animals, fish and the global environment. Healthcare plays an important role as one source of mercury. ForNike Air Jordan 1 Mens