Non-sterile examination gloves and sterile surgical gloves: which are more sustainable?
J Hosp Infect
; 118: 87-95, 2021 Dec.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1464781
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Healthcare professionals should consider environmental sustainability when using personal protective equipment (PPE). One of the most frequently used items of PPE in medical settings are gloves.AIM:
This study aims to quantify the environmental impact of sterile versus non-sterile gloves using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology.METHODS:
This study used three glove types non-sterile gloves and sterile gloves (latex and latex-free). Sixteen different environmental impact categories were used to demonstrate the impact of each glove type.FINDINGS:
Non-sterile gloves had the least environmental impact in all categories. The two types of sterile gloves, non-latex (synthetic rubber) and latex (natural rubber), performed similarly, although the non-latex gloves had a greater impact on ozone depletion, mineral use and ionizing radiation. For climate change impact, sterile latex gloves were 11.6 times higher than non-sterile gloves. This study found that for both sterile type gloves (latex and non-latex), the manufacture of the gloves contributes to the most considerable environmental impact, with an average of 64.37% for sterile latex gloves and 60.48% for non-latex sterile gloves.CONCLUSION:
Using the LCA methodology, this study quantitatively demonstrated the environmental impact of sterile versus non-sterile gloves.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Gloves, Surgical
/
Latex
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Hosp Infect
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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