ABSTRACT
In 2019, the North East Anaesthesia Sustainable Healthcare (NEASH) Network was formed. Its aim is to encourage coordinated sustainability efforts. We comprise over 80 anaesthetists with representatives in every Trust in our region. The NHS accounts for 4% of UK carbon emissions. Two per cent of NHS emissions come solely from anaesthetic gases. In late 2020, we began a region-wide project to raise awareness of the environmental impact of general anaesthesia (GA) with the aim of reducing emissions throughout our geographical area. Methods NEASH performed a snapshot audit of 1 full week's GA data in early 2021. Consumed volatile agent, nitrous oxide (N2O) and total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) were converted into kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalents (kg CO2e) [1, 2]. Each Trust's emissions were divided by total GA time giving kg CO2e per hour (kg CO2e.h-1), allowing efficiency comparison between sites. We presented our results and the following messages to each Trust. Firstly, stop using desflurane and use N2O only when essential as these agents have the highest global warming potential (GWP). Secondly, we encouraged sevoflurane use as it has the lowest GWP of volatiles (followed by isoflurane);low fresh gas flows are essential. Thirdly, consider TIVA, as its GWP is lower than volatile GA. Although outside the scope of our audit, we reminded colleagues that local or regional anaesthesia have a lower CO2e than GA. In early 2022, we re-audited to assess the impact of our messages. Results The results of 5340 h of GA data are displayed in the table below. Discussion Due to increased operating post-COVID-19 and the inclusion of a hospital that was unable to participate in round 1, round 2 contained 787 more hours of data. Despite this, emissions of CO2e were 12.83 t lower, demonstrating an average hourly emission reduction of 61.1%. This was mainly driven by reduced desflurane and N2O use. Two hospitals in our region have since decommissioned N2O manifolds and two others are undertaking this process. Region-wide procurement data obtained by NEASH showed that three hospitals have ceased ordering desflurane. TIVA use remained broadly the same, which may be due to a lack of availability of equipment. This region-wide project is easily reproducible nationwide and could make significant contributions towards NHS net zero. (Table Presented).
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Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, our radiation oncology department was forced to rapidly integrate telemedicine into its practice. While there has been investigation into the implementation, effectiveness, cost, and perceptions of telemedicine, the environmental impact of telemedicine within radiation oncology has not yet been established. This is particularly relevant as climate change is recognized as one of the largest threats to human health, including oncologic outcomes. Yet, the healthcare sector significantly contributes to global carbon emissions, in part due to patient travel. Objective(s): The aim of this study was to assess the impact of telemedicine on travel-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for a large, academic radiation oncology outpatient clinic located in a densely population suburban setting. Method(s): All in-person and telehealth visits over a consecutive 7-day period in June 2021 scheduled at our main outpatient clinic were retrospectively reviewed. Care visits with patients who resided outside of the state were excluded. Travel distance for in-person visits and miles saved for virtual visits was estimated based on patients' reported home address in the electronic medical record. Associated GHG emissions were calculated with the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation tool (https://greet.es.anl. gov) using a well-to-wheel model, which accounts for all emissions related to fuel (ie. gas, electricity) production and use. Gas, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric vehicle utilization were accounted for per published statewide vehicle registration statistics. GHG emissions were converted into carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e) using 100-year global warming potentials. Result(s): A total of 158 clinic visits were conducted over the time period. Table 1 describes visit type, telemedicine status, and primary cancer site of the included patients. Total miles traveled for in-person visits was 5,775 miles and an estimated 13,892 potential miles saved were attributed to telemedicine visits. On average, 118 travel miles were saved per telemedicine visit (CO2e, 55 kg). The forecasted annual savings of CO2e attributed to telemedicine visits is 339 metric tons, the equivalent emissions of 61.6 homes' electricity use for one year. Conclusion(s): The integration of telemedicine within a radiation oncology outpatient clinic reduces the environmental impact of patient care. Telemedicine should be considered where feasible and appropriate to establish and promote environmentally sustainable practices within the field.
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Long-term shifts in weather of a particular region refers to climate change. Now the climate change is no longer a regional phenomenon. It has assumed global proportions and all countries are affected. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But mainly since the 1800s, human activities, growing population and industrialization have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas on one hand and destroying green cover/vegetation/forests on the other. US Environmental Protection Agency defines carbon sequestration as the process through which carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere is absorbed by trees, plants and crops through photosynthesis, and stored as carbon in tree trunks, branches, foliage and roots (biomass) and also in soils. The term “sinks” is also used to refer to forests, croplands, and grazing lands, and their ability to sequester carbon. Agriculture and forestry activities can also release CO2 to the atmosphere. Therefore, a carbon sink occurs when carbon sequestration is higher than carbon released during the same period. Technologies for climate change mitigation and adaptation is the need of the hour. Covid-19 pandemic disrupted citrus production and trade but citrus fruit and juice consumption has increased.
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Summary The gradual rise in global warming owing to fossil fuels usage is causing massive environmental problems and global temperature rise and countries are focusing on the negative emissions technologies (NETs) to restrict the average global temperature rise to 1.5°C by 2050. As Italy instigates its stable recovery from the coronavirus emergency, the Italian government is offering Italian people financial support of up to €500 to buy a personal bicycle or e‐scooter, to reduce dependence on private cars and global warming issues and people inItaly have greeted this opportunity for new personal e‐scooters. This paper aims to employ a life cycle assessment (LCA) onthe personally owned electric scooters (PEOS) that are circulating in Turin. The results are reported for five impact categories: global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential, eutrophication potential, ozone layer depletion, and human toxicity potential. We found that the environmental load associated with the usage and charging of e‐scooters is less compared with the materials and manufacturing burdens of e‐scooters. Regarding the GWP, the results of Analysis methodology of the use of the PEOS generate 21 g of CO2‐eq. per passenger‐kilometer dominated by around 50% from materials processing, 17.5% from Li‐ion battery production, 1.6% from transportation, and 30.9% from usage and charging of e‐scooter. Four scenarios are compared with the base case situation, which are the substitution of alternate materials, use of 50% recycled aluminum, transportation of e‐scooters via plan, and charging with solar power. Results from these scenarios are proved to be highly sensitive to baseline scenarios. Results also revealed that PEOS has higher (21 g CO2 eq./km) environmental consequences on the global warming potential as compared to bicycles (8 g CO2 eq./km) and lower (21 g CO2 eq./km) environmental impacts as compared with electric bicycles (40 g CO2 eq./km) and battery electric vehicles (80 g CO2 eq./km). [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of International Journal of Energy Research is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
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In this article, Jamie Clayton, Operations Director at Freeman Technology, and Joana Pinto, PhD, Senior Scientist, and Sarah Zellnitz, PhD, Senior Scientist, both of Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering’s Area II – Advanced Products & Delivery section, discuss the benefits of multi-faceted powder characterisation in dry powder inhalation formulations and how it can support efforts to achieve net zero emissions.
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The demand of face masks had increased tremendously due to pandemic outbreak of COVID-19, leading to the increment production rate of face masks in Malaysia. Waste is also produced at the same time, resulting impacts towards the environment. Due to the land scarcity issue in Malaysia, the end of life treatment for the waste is taken into consideration. The study tools used in this study is life cycle assessment (LCA) to identify the significant potential environmental impact produced during the life cycle stages for distribution and disposal through GaBi Education Software. The disposal stage between landfill and incineration of the 3-Ply face masks is studied to determine the end of life treatment for it. The impact assessment method selected in this study is CML 2001-Jan 2016 with the environmental indicator of Global Warming Potential (GWP), Acidification Potential (AP), Eutrophication Potential (EP) and Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP). GWP results in producing highest impact to the environment during both distribution and disposal stages. The impact of GWP also relates to the climate change. Modern incineration is recommended to overcome the issue of land scarcity in Malaysia as the amount of waste by 3-Ply face masks are increasing due to the pandemic COVID-19, reducing the impacts towards the environment. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) is a commonly used solution in EU countries to increase building energy efficiency. The article describes ETICS in terms of environmental impact from two perspectives, i.e., industry and academia. In EU countries, ETICS manufacturers to place construction products to the market must subject it to the assessment and verification of constancy of performance (AVCP). The basis of this process is the European Technical Assessment (ETA). Based on the number of issued and valid ETAs for ETICS and the number of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), the dimension of sustainability issues was discussed. Analysis of one of the environmental indicators (Global Warming Potential—GWP) for ETICS with EPS, XPS, and MW showed only a general trend. However, there are significant differences between the values of the GWP and other environmental indicators that one can use for future AVCP of construction products. In the light of the research described in the paper, it seems reasonable to conclude that AVCP for ETICS in terms of sustainability will be challenging to implement in practice-based only on environmental indicators according to EN 15804. The article also reviews scientific publications on the sustainability of ETICS.
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Combating the COVID-19 pandemic has raised the demand for and disposal of personal protective equipment in the United States. This work proposes a novel waste personal protective equipment processing system that enables energy recovery through producing renewable fuels and other basic chemicals. Exergy analysis and environmental assessment through a detailed life cycle assessment approach are performed to evaluate the energy and environmental sustainability of the processing system. Given the environmental advantages in reducing 35.42% of total greenhouse gas emissions from the conventional incineration and 43.50% of total fossil fuel use from landfilling processes, the optimal number, sizes, and locations of establishing facilities within the proposed personal protective equipment processing system in New York State are then determined by an optimization-based site selection methodology, proposing to build two pre-processing facilities in New York County and Suffolk County and one integrated fast pyrolysis plant in Rockland County. Their optimal annual treatment capacities are 1,708 t/y, 8,000 t/y, and 9,028 t/y. The proposed optimal personal protective equipment processing system reduces 31.5% of total fossil fuel use and 35.04% of total greenhouse gas emissions compared to the personal protective equipment incineration process. It also avoids 41.52% and 47.64% of total natural land occupation from the personal protective equipment landfilling and incineration processes.