Mercury Elimination Tools & Resources
Background Information
- 1998 EPA-AHA Memorandum of Understanding calling for virtual elimination of mercury
- Mercury Vapors Video: This video demonstrates that elemental mercury readily evaporates at room temperature.
- Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association (NEWMOA)'s Mercury Topic Hub: This site covers health effects of mercury, fish advisories, policies and regulations and a myriad of other mercury resources. Not healthcare specific.
Assessment Tools
- Health Care Without Harm's List of Mercury-Containing Items in a Hospital Setting (pdf)
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) provides a list of Mercury Items in Healthcare
- MWRA / MASCO Mercury Management Guidebook provides a database of mercury-containing items as well as resources on mercury in wastewater.
- Mercury Assessment Worksheet (xls) was designed to help organizations inventory their mercury-containing devices. This spreadsheet was developed by the California Office of P2 and Technology Development and the California Department of Health Services' Hospital Pollution Prevention Program.
- Mercury Checklist (pdf): See Sections 5A and 5B from the Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) Self-Assessment for Facilities
- List of Mercury-Containing Pharmaceuticals (xls): This comprehensive list of was developed by Premier Inc. to support its mercury free efforts for its members.
Minimization & Elimination Strategies
- Practice Greenhealth's Ten Step Guide to Mercury Elimination
- The ABCs of Mercury Reduction: A how-to manual for designing, implementing and monitoring mercury reduction in your hospital (2011)
- Green Guide for Health Care EP Prerequisite 1: Mercury Reduction
- Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) Mercury Waste Virtual Elimination Model Plan
- California’s Guide to Assessment and Elimination of Mercury in Healthcare Facilities
- CalDPH Mercury Manager Tool and Instructions
- EPA's Mercury Elimination Guide
- Mercury Challenge Handbook (2001)- Ohio Hospital Association and Ohio EPA
- Making Medicine Mercury Free Webinar
Sample Policies & Procedures
Mercury Elimination in Labs
- College of American Pathologists (CAP): Mercury in the Lab--What Can You Do?
- Mercury in Labs Resources: February 2005
- Changing Materials and Practices in Anatomical Pathology Laboratories
- Interpreting Analytical Results for Mercury and Other Substances
- Removing Mercury From Hospital Labs
- Tips on Testing Reagents and Chemicals for Mercury
- Alternatives to B5 Fixative
- Dana Farber Cancer Center: Bans drain disposal of reagents containing thimerosal, compiled a list of vendors that do not use mercury-containing preservatives.
Other Relevant Resources
- Health Care without Harm’s Mercury Webpage
- Mercury-Free Healthcare: A partnership of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) to eliminate the use of mercury in healthcare globally.
- Mercury in Dentist Offices
- United Nations Environment Program: Mercury Use in Healthcare Settings and Dentistry (Module 4)
