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Mercury in
Patient Care Areas
Mercury is present in many of the
patient care areas of health care facilities. Changing
to nonmercury sphygmomanometers and thermometers eliminates
only a couple of the sources of mercury from health
care settings. Mercury is present in many types of equipment
and chemicals. This fact sheet outlines the potential
sources of mercury in the patient care areas of health
care facilities.
Many health care facilities are working
to eliminate mercury. It is a toxin associated with
nervous system disorders and is especially toxic to
newborn babies, children and pregnant women. Mercury
can also have an adverse effect on wildlife.
In addition to adverse health impacts,
hospitals have many reasons to reduce their use of mercury.
New federal air and water regulations greatly reduce
the amount of mercury allowed to be discharged from
a municipal wastewater system or an incinerator. Mercury
can now be measured at lower levels, making it easier
for regulatory agencies to identify facilities that
are not in compliance.
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and the American Hospital Association (AHA)
have committed to a voluntary agreement to virtually
eliminate mercury waste in hospitals and health systems.
Reducing mercury in the clinical areas
of your health care facility can reduce the level of
mercury in the environment and help your facility avoid
the need to increase its investment in pollution controls
and waste disposal.
Steps to Identify
Mercury
Examine your chemicals and equipment. Read container
labels, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) and inserts
that come with the chemicals. MSDSs will generally not
identify mercury levels below one percent, as manufacturers
are not required to list hazardous components of a product
below this level.
Contact your sales representatives
and product manufacturers to ask about mercury in their
products. Request a certificate of analysis (COA) or
other data on the mercury concentration in chemical
products.
When setting up purchase contracts,
require disclosure of all hazardous materials in the
products as part of the contract. Choose mercury-free
products, if possible. If there are no mercury-free
products that meet the needs of the health care facility,
choose those that are the lowest in mercury concentration.
MnTAP maintains the following list
of potential mercury-containing chemicals and equipment
solely as a service to Minnesota health care facilities.
This is not a complete list.
Potential Mercury-containing
Chemicals
- Cleaners and degreasers, including
CIDEX, Derma Scrub, Dove soap and Soft Scrub. Additional
cleaners are listed in MnTAP’s fact sheet Mercury
in Nonclinical Health Care Areas [#10b]
- Diuretics (mersalyl and salts)
- Immune salines
- Products containing the preservatives
Mercurochrome, Mercurothiolate, Merthiolate, Mertorgan,
Merzonin, thimerosal and thimerosalate. Examples include
bactericides, contact lens products, hemorrhoidal
ointments, nasal sprays, ophthalmic products, Riasol
and skin bleaching creams
- Teething powders
- X-ray developers
- X-ray fixers
Potential Mercury-containing
Equipment and Supplies
- Barometers
- CAT scan paper
- Feeding tubes; older, weighted
varieties
- Gastrointestinal tubes: esophageal
and intestinal dilators, including Hurst and Maloney
bougies, Cantor and Miller-Abbot tubes
- Hydrometers (used to measure specific gravity)
- Lamps: cold/hot cathode germicidal,
fluorescent, high-intensity discharge (HID), high-pressure
sodium vapor, metal halide, slimline germicidal, spectral
and ultraviolet (UV)
- Mercuric oxide batteries in blood
analyzers, cardiac monitors, defibrillators, electrocardiogram
(ECG) monitors, fetal monitors, hearing aids, Holter
monitors, IV pumps, laryngoscopes, oxygen analyzers/monitors,
pacemakers, pagers, picker calibers, spirometer alarms,
telemetry transmitters and temperature alarms
- Ophthalmic weights, such as the
“Wee Bag O’Mercury”
- Otoscopes, older models
- Pigmented plastics, red bags and
red blood tube caps
- Scoliometers
- Sphygmomanometers
- Switches in patient beds
- Thermometers
- Thermostat probes in clothes dryers
and space heaters
- Thermostats in incubators
Resources for
Mercury Data
Several online databases list products containing mercury.
Products become listed either by their manufacturers
submitting information or by being tested. Additional
products, that are not included in the databases, may
contain mercury.
For More Information
The Sustainable
Hospitals Project offers information on selecting
health care products that offer greater occupational
safety and less environmental impact than some of the
traditional products used. These products include mercury-free
alternatives. Also, see its fact sheet Removing
Mercury from Hospital Labs.
Hospitals
for a Healthy Environment (H2E) and MnTAP have information
about mercury and how to eliminate its use in your facility.
H2E is a partnership of the AHA, the U.S. EPA, the American
Nurses Association and Health Care Without Harm to improve
environmental performance in health care.
H2E sponsors the Making Medicine Mercury-Free
Award—a one-time award given to facilities that
have essentially eliminated mercury and developed policies
to sustain the elimination.
MnTAP has a variety of technical assistance services available to help Minnesota businesses implement industry-tailored solutions that maximize resource efficiency, prevent pollution, increase energy efficiency, and reduce costs.Our information
resources are available online. Or, call MnTAP at 612.624.1300
or 800.247.0015 from greater Minnesota
for personal assistance.
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