Jefferson Health System (JHS) is taking the lead in a regional effort to phase out the use of mercury-containing products in the Delaware Valley.

Working in conjunction with WHEN, Women’s Health and Environmental Network, which received $25,000 from the international coalition, Health Care Without Harm (HCWH), JHS is organizing a “Mercury Round-up,” and will make available to the public mercury-free thermometers to replace mercury fever thermometers. Mercury thermometers contribute 17 tons of mercury to the solid waste stream annually.

In a pledge of commitment to providing quality and environmentally safe health care, the Jefferson Health System intends to phase out the mercury containing products by June 2005, said James Plumb, M.D., associate vice president, Community Health, JHS.

“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,” Dr. Plumb said. “This is a health hazard that JHS and its hospitals cannot ignore and must address.”

To kick-off the new program, various hospitals within the Jefferson Health System will host a week-long mercury thermometer “round-up,” beginning on Earth Day, April 22nd.

Community members, as well as all hospital staff members are encouraged to bring their mercury thermometers from their home medicine chests to designated drop off sites and receive mercury-free replacements while supplies last.

“WHEN and HCWH applaud the Jefferson Health System member hospitals for their commitment to providing quality patient care while reducing the mercury burden on the environment.” said WHEN President Julie Becker, Ph.D., MPH.

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.

Onyx Environmental Services (OES) has 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. A broken mercury thermometer releases mercury vapor that can reach potentially dangerous levels indoors. Tossing mercury thermometers into household trash is the single largest source of mercury in solid waste.

“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.”

Recently, the National Academy of Sciences reported that each year more than 60,000 children may be at risk for learning disabilities because of mercury-contaminated fish eaten by their mothers during pregnancy.

Jefferson Health System (JHS), formed in 1996, now includes Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH), Methodist Hospital Division of TJUH, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Lankenau Hospital and Paoli Memorial Hospital; Bryn Mawr Rehab; Jefferson HealthCARE Physicians, a primary care network that includes such organizations as Great Valley Health in the Main Line area; JeffCARE, a Physician Hospital Organization; Jefferson Home Care; Albert Einstein Medical Center; Germantown Community Health Services; MossRehab; Willowcrest (a center for subacute care); Willow Terrace at Germantown (a long-term care facility) and Belmont Behavioral Health. Einstein also operates a number of outpatient and satellite locations and a primary care network, Einstein Neighborhood Healthcare.

Frankford Hospital includes three community teaching hospitals, the Frankford, Torresdale and Bucks campuses; three additional outpatient sites and Frankford Health Care Network Physician Services. Magee Rehabilitation Hospital completes the group. 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: 3-22-2001