Treatment, Storage and Disposal (TDS) Facility Locator Launched by NCMS. — 2023-03-13

The new tool contains data that were extracted from an EPA database. There are 125 facilities in the database. Additionally, the websites for each of these facilities were located and are now displayed in the search results (allows users to quickly contact a TDS facility). Users can search by state, EPA Region, waste code and facility name. [ full text ]

Looking Ahead with AHA’s 2023 Environmental Scan — 2023-02-09

The 2023 AHA Environmental Scan released this week provides a snapshot of past and present trends on important issues that form the foundational pillars of the AHA strategic plan. It examines trends, interprets data and offers projections for the future across such areas as workforce, health equity, valued-based care delivery, consumerism and other factors that hospitals and health systems can use as they plot their own path forward. [ full text ]

Sustainability in dentistry: Urgent call to action — 2023-02-09

This amazing planet provides the necessities for life, including human life, but the earth continues to be assaulted by our mismanagement of resources. Such is the case with the ongoing use of single-use plastics. Every day, we use them and then discard them. Most do not decompose but rather clog up our landfills and oceans. Dentistry contributes to this problem. Our profession is unfortunately reliant on single-use plastics in our clinical workflow, including barrier protection, air/water syringes, restorative material packaging, instrumentation such as micro brushes, and oral hygiene aids. We need to analyze our workflow and remove as many single-use plastics as possible. We need this to happen now. [ full text ]

HERC's new Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals guidance document downloaded 8,644 times in Q4CY22 — 2023-01-27

Published in September 2022, the long awaited compliance assistance document for meeting EPA's final rule, Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the P-75 Listing for Nicotine has proven to be very popular with the healthcare industry. [ full text ]

Toward a Net-Zero Health Care System: Actions to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions — 2023-01-25

In this article, the authors briefly review sources of GHG emissions in health care and explore opportunities for mitigation that can help to move toward an environmentally sustainable, net-zero health care system. [ full text ]

Used Lithium-Ion Batteries -- Information for Businesses — 2023-01-25

Lithium-ion batteries with different chemical compositions can appear nearly identical yet have different properties. In addition, some discarded Li-ion batteries are more likely to have hazardous properties if they contain a significant charge, yet such batteries can appear to the user to be completely discharged. For these reasons, it can be difficult for a generator to identify which of its waste Li-ion batteries are defined as hazardous waste when disposed. Therefore, where there is uncertainty, EPA recommends that businesses consider managing Li-ion batteries under the federal “universal waste” regulations. [ full text ]

On the Road to Meeting EPA’s Hazardous Waste Regs — 2023-01-11

It may not be the road trip you’re most interested in, but it’s important to know if and when your state has adopted the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) new Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals Rule. Although the rule became active in some states and territories on Aug. 19, 2019, it has been making its way around the country as more regions adopt its key stipulations. [ full text ]