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The Impact Of The Medical Industry. . The Medical Industry

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The Impact of the Medical Industry The medical industry is comprised of hospitals and other institutions that provide goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, and palliative care (Boxall, 2004). It is an industry that for decades has provided us humans with beneficial services when it comes to our health. But, although it is of great value to us, it negatively impacts the environment. Due to the fact, that it uses a vast amount of natural resources (like fossil fuel and water), and produces huge loads of waste. Consequently contributing to the damage of the environment. As it has become more noticeable, that the healthcare industry plays a huge role in negatively impacting the environment, actions …show more content…

Which is used to sterilize containers, medical instruments, trays, etc., making hospitals place amongst the top 10 water users nationwide (American Hospitals Association). For example a report by the CBECS that was conducted for the very first time in 30 yrs., stated that hospitals in the U.S consumed about 133billion gallons of water in 2007 alone (U.S Energy Information Administration, 2012). While on the other hand, they also produce huge amounts of waste per year, which equates to 2.3 million tons (University of Pennsylvania, 2015). Which includes paper, cardboard, infectious material, and medical waste much of which is not properly disposed of and makes its way into the environment (Savage, N/A). By using extensive amounts of natural resources, the medical industry has contributed to the damage of the environment. Due to the fact, that they are the 2nd largest emitter of greenhouse gases, contributing to the eight percent of the nations GHG emissions produced by the sector alone (Eckelman and Sherman, 2016). Most of which is produced by direct activities like the incineration of medical waste, that releases toxic chemicals like mercury, and the use of ambulances which emits carbon dioxide as they are driven daily (Brown, Buettner, and Canyon, 2012). As well as by indirect activities, that can be seen as the amount of carbon dioxide or pollution emitted by companies that produce and transport medical supplies for

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