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Methodist Hospital Rounding Up Mercury Thermometers
to Reduce Number of Environmentally Dangerous Products
Week-long “Mercury Roundup” of home fever thermometers
will begin Earth Day, April 22
With the approach of Earth Day, the Methodist Hospital division
of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is asking for the
community’s help in making Philadelphia more environmentally
safe by having them bring in mercury fever thermometers from
home for disposal.
Starting Monday, April 23, and running until Wednesday, April
25, Methodist Hospital will collect fever thermometers at
designated drop-off sites and give out in exchange mercury-free
replacements, while supplies last. The public is asked to
bring their thermometers in a plastic bag, as a broken mercury
thermometer releases mercury vapor that can reach potentially
dangerous levels indoors.
Thermometers may be dropped off from 9 a.m. to noon. The
Mercury Round-Up is part of a regional effort by Methodist
Hospital, Jefferson University Hospitals and the other Jefferson
Health System (JHS) member hospitals to phase out the use
of mercury-containing products in the Delaware Valley. JHS
is conducting this project in conjunction with WHEN, Women’s
Health and Environmental Network, which received $25,000 from
the international coalition, Health Care Without Harm (HCWH.)
In a pledge of commitment to providing quality and environmentally
safe health care, the Jefferson Health System is working to
phase out the mercury containing products by June 2005, said
James Plumb, M.D., associate vice president, Community Health,
JHS, and a family medicine specialist at Jefferson University
Hospital. Mercury thermometers contribute 17 tons of mercury
to the solid waste stream annually.
“Incidents of mercury pollution in area streams, lakes
and reservoirs have risen in recent years. Mercury from a
single thermometer is sufficient enough to contaminate a small
lake,” said Dr. Plumb. “This is a health hazard
that Methodist Hospital cannot ignore and must address.”
The pledge to cut back on mercury emissions by converting
to mercury-free healthcare practices is indicative of the
growing awareness of the need for prevention as a first step
to provide environmentally responsible health care, he said.
“Mercury can impact the way we think, see, hear, smell,
taste and touch. Mercury pollutes lakes and streams, and deposits
in the fish that we eat, “ said Dr. Plumb. “Pregnant
women, women of childbearing age and young children are particularly
at risk from mercury exposure.”
Among the replacement thermometers will be the Tempa•DOT
single-use, disposal thermometer being donated by 3M Health
Care. Onyx Environmental Services (OES) has also joined the
effort and offered to provide containers for disposal, then
collect the mercury thermometers from the designated sites
and drop them off at a Philadelphia Department of Sanitation
Household Hazardous Waste drop-off site for safe disposal.
OES is a leading provider of environmental services to companies
of all sizes that require hazardous and industrial waste-related
services.
The “mercury round-up,” which has been carried
out successfully in New York, Boston, and Washington D.C.,
is one way to reduce the threat of mercury within homes. Tossing
mercury thermometers into household trash is the single largest
source of mercury in solid waste.
WHEN is a Philadelphia-based environmental health, non-profit,
organization dedicated to reducing toxic effects upon women
and their families through education and direct action. Health
Care Without Harm is an international coalition working in
27 countries to transform the health care industry so that
it is no longer a source of environmental harm.
To date, HCWH has successfully assisted over 600 hospitals
and clinics across the nation with their mercury collection
and phase-out programs in accordance with the American Hospital
Association and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Memorandum
of Understanding goal of virtual elimination of mercury-containing
products from healthcare facilities by 2005.
For more information regarding the international mercury-free
initiative, visit the HCWH website at www.noharm.org.
Published: 4-4-2001
Media Only Contact:
Nan Myers
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Phone: 215/955-6300
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