U.S. Makes Progress Toward Cleaner Air
Thursday, March 11, 2010-- EPA's most recent evaluation of air pollution, Our Nation's Air, Status and Trends Through 2008, presents trends in air quality measurements, analyzes national emissions from key industrial sectors and takes a look at the relationship between air quality and climate change. -- (full text)
[U.S. EPA]

Task force aims to keep unwanted medications from waterways
Tuesday, March 09, 2010-- Dave Mazza, regional director of the Pennsylvania Resources Council, the task force's administrator, said conventional wastewater treatment cannot effectively eliminate pharmaceutical compounds from water. -- (full text)
[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]

Protecting America?s waters is top EPA priority for 2010 and beyond
Tuesday, March 09, 2010-- EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson issued a memorandum to agency employees last month outlining seven key themes that EPA will consider priorities going forward. Protecting the waters of the United States is one of them. -- (full text)
[Water World]

EPA Tests Environmentally Friendly Parking Lots
Friday, March 05, 2010-- In an effort to help reduce pollution runoff from paved parking lots, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is testing a variety of permeable paving materials at its facility in Edison, NJ. -- (full text)
[Water World]

Seminar: Improved Process for Identifying, Prioritizing and Addressing Emerging Pollutants, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 03, 2010-- How can we identify the contaminants most likely to create the next generation of Superfund sites? Motivated by this challenge, a workshop of 24 experts was convened in August 2009 with the express purpose of answering this question. It is the intent of this seminar to summarize the discussions, conclusions, and identification of challenges that have evolved (so far) out of the workshop. -- (full text)
[Florida Department of Environmental Protection]

Going green in the hospital will save money, reduce waste
Tuesday, March 02, 2010-- Wider adoption of the practice of recycling medical equipmentincluding laparoscopic ports and durable cutting tools typically tossed out after a single usecould save hospitals hundreds of millions of dollars annually and curb trash at medical centers, the second-largest waste producers in the United States, after the food industry -- (full text)
[The JHU Gazette]

Hospitals Saved $138M in 2008 By Reprocessing Medical Waste
Monday, March 01, 2010-- More than 25 percent of U.S. hospitals are taking advantage of reprocessing single use medical devices as a means of reducing landfill waste, according to a new report from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. -- (full text)
[Environmental Leader]

Hospitals Urged to Start Recycling
Monday, March 01, 2010-- U.S. hospitals throw away surgical gowns, towels and ultrasonic cutting tools after a single use, but recycling those supplies could save hundreds of millions of dollars annually and protect the environment, researchers say. -- (full text)
[BusinessWeek]

Fight to prevent medical waste transfer station from opening reaches new stage
Wednesday, February 24, 2010-- Residents have repeatedly expressed concern that the facility would impact the quality of life and health of the community. In particular, they have objected to the additional traffic that would be created, as well as the possibility of hazardous materials being transported and stored in the community. -- (full text)
[YourNabe.com]

Practice Greenhealth webinar schedule released!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010-- Practice Greenhealth webinar schedule: 10 Reasons to Join Practice Greenhealth (Free) March 5, 2010 at 1:00 PM Eastern; Greening Operations Series: The Original Green: 20 Ways to Save Money Saving Water March 9, 2010 at 1:00 PM Eastern; Greening Operations Series: EPP 101: Building a Successful and Cost-Effective Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program March 18, 2010 at 1:00pm Eastern; Green Construction Series: Advanced Energy Design Guide for Health Care March 19, 2010 at 1:00pm Eastern; Healthcare Suppliers: Trends in Healthcare Sustainability--Don't Miss out On New Opportunities March 25, 2010 at 1:00 PM Eastern; Healthy Food in Healthcare - Creating a Menu of Change in your Food Service Operations March 26, 2010 at 1:00pm Eastern -- (full text)
[Practice Greenhealth]

PharmEcology Presents Disposal Guidelines for the H1N1 Vaccine
Wednesday, February 24, 2010-- Recently, several of our clients have asked us to advise them on how to properly dispose of their H1N1 vaccines. In response to these requests and the different recommendations we're seeing, we're providing this summary of the disposal considerations as a service to our clients and to the broader healthcare community. -- (full text)
[PharmEcology]

EPA's Rulemaking Gateway
Monday, February 22, 2010-- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new Web site giving the public additional opportunity to participate in the agencys rulemaking process. The online Rulemaking Gateway serves as a portal to EPAs priority rules, providing citizens with earlier and more concise information about agency regulations. -- (full text)
[EPA]

ACCES Renton is being built "GREEN"
Tuesday, February 16, 2010-- With the exciting news that we are opening a new emergency hospital in Renton, we would also like to announce that we're doing everything possible to build the new hospital "green". -- (full text)
[Seattle Post Intelligencer]

Minnesota Safe Drug Disposal Act of 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010-- "Our wastewater treatment system is not completely breaking down those compounds," said Rep. Paul Gardner (DFL-Shoreview), who sponsors HF1217, known as the "Minnesota Safe Drug Disposal Act of 2010." -- (full text)
[Review Messenger]

Pennsylvania EPA Awards Abington Memorial Hospital Funding for Green Projects
Sunday, February 07, 2010-- The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection-Office of Energy and Technology Development has awarded two grants to Abington Memorial Hospital in support of its efforts to "Think Green." -- (full text)
[Greater Tulsa Reporter Newspapers]

EPA Announces New Support for Sustainable Communities
Sunday, February 07, 2010-- New office, pilot programs to help communities minimize their environmental impact and increase economic opportunity. -- (full text)
[EPA]

CleanMed 2001 May 11 - 13
Tuesday, February 02, 2010-- Accelerate the health care sector's commitment to environmental sustainability and regenerative health to improve the health of people and the environment. -- (full text)
[CleanMed]

EPA Eyes Unused Pharmaceuticals
Tuesday, February 02, 2010-- Health care facilities can expect the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by October to release a set of best practices for managing excess, expired, and unwanted pharmaceuticals. -- (full text)
[ American Society of Health-System Pharmacists]

UGA to pay $20K fine for waste for burning medical and infectious waste
Tuesday, February 02, 2010-- The University of Georgia will pay $20,000 for burning medical and infectious waste in three on-campus incinerators, according to an order from the state Environmental Protection Division. -- (full text)
[Online Athens]

An In-Depth Look at the Hospital of the Future
Friday, January 22, 2010-- The U.S. Green Building Council, spurred by designers, activists, and health professionals, is now developing LEED for Healthcare, a set of standards to help hospitals achieve sustainability. What might the hospital of the future look like? We drew up a prototype. -- (full text)
[Fast Company]