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Mercury
Mercury is present in many areas of health care facilities,
including the chemicals, equipment and plumbing. Changing
to nonmercury sphygmomanometers and thermometers eliminates
only a few of the sources of mercury from health care
settings. Reducing mercury in 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.
These fact sheet outline the potential
sources of mercury in health care facilities.
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.
Getting
Credit for Eliminating Mercury Park Nicollet offered
education credit incentives to employees for learning
to make
facilities mercury free.
Making
Medicine Mercury Free (MMMF) H2E MMMF award winners
that have virtually eliminated mercury and developed
policies to sustain the elimination. See the criteria
your facility needs to meet to be considered for this
honorable distinction.
Minnesota H2E MMMF Award Winners
First Care Medical Services, Fosston
Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis
Hutchinson Area Health Care, Hutchinson
Ridgeview Medical Center, Waconia
New Ulm Medical Center
Parker Hughes Institute, Roseville
University of Minnesota Medical Center—Fairview, Minneapolis
The following facilities received
the MMMF award from
Healthcare Without Harm, before that organization became
an
H2E partner.
Duluth Clinic Health System
St Luke's Hospital & Regional Trauma Center
St Mary's Medical Center
Other Resources
Hospitals
for a Healthy Environment offers background on
the problems with mercury.
Wastewater Practices: Mercury Discharge
This Harvard University fact sheet identifies several known or potential sources of mercury in common products and processes. It includes an inquiry letter to chemical vendors which can be used to obtain vendor assistance in identifying products suspected of containing mercury.
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