Reports and Publications

WHO Releases Technical Guidance on Substituting Mercury Thermometers and Sphygmomanometers

WHO has issued a Technical Guidance Document for the safe substitution of non-mercury thermometers and sphygmomanometers in health-care settings. more 

The Phase-out of Mercury Containing Devices in Philippine Hospitals

The Phase-out of Mercury Containing Devices in Philippine Hospitals more 

Philippine Hg Free Alternatives Directory 2011

Philippine Hg Free Alternatives Directory 2011 more 

Manila 2011 Declaration for Mercury Free Health Care

On March 15, in Manila, Philippins, HCWH, WHO and the UNDP GEF Global Health Care Waste Project co-organized a regional event to support the development of mercury-free health care in Asia.  more 

Asia Hg Conference Report 15 March 2011

Asia Hg Conference Report 15 March 2011 more 

Guidance on the Cleanup, Temporary or Intermediate Storage, and Transport of Mercury Waste from Healthcare Facilities

The UNDP GEF Global Health Care Waste Project issued a Guidance Document on the Cleanup, Temporary or Intermediate Storage, and Transport of Mercury Waste from Healthcare Facilities. The UNDP GEF project involves demonstrating best practices for the management of mercury waste and promoting mercury-free devices. As health facilities phase out mercury devices, proper methods of storage and transport are needed. This document is intended for project countries where national norms and guidelines for cleanup, storage, and transport of mercury waste do not exist at this time. These suggested guidelines should become part of a broader plan for sequestration and phase-out of mercury.  more 

Mercury-Free Health Care — Toward the Tipping Point

Health Care Without Harm and the World Health Organization have issued a two-year progress report on their global Mercury-Free Health Care Initiative entitled Toward the Tipping Point: WHO-HCWH Global Initiative to Substitute Mercury-Based Medical Devices in Health Care. The progress report finds that “Momentum is growing and mercury-free health care is increasingly becoming the status quo in many countries. The Global Initiative is moving closer to a tipping point that will shift the dynamics of supply and demand in the global thermometer and blood pressure device markets away from mercury and toward the alternatives.” more 

GGHC's Health Care Waste Assessment Interview Guide

This 28-page Guide includes Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3 instruments, with interview guides, checklists, and questionnaires. The primary purpose of these tools are to help make a preliminary assessment of the waste systems in the facility. The goal is to gather information that can make the later stages as comprehensive, time-efficient and non-intensive as possible. more 

Healthy Hospitals, Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Addressing Climate Change in Health Care Settings

(Discussion Draft) This 32-page discussion draft produced by the World Health Organization and Health Care Without Harm says that the healthcare sector can lead the way against climate change. This report shows how the health sector can improve reduce its climate footprint while setting forth a number of opportunties for action for health care professionals, hospitals, health systems, ministries of health and intergovernmental negotiations. more 

Resilient Flooring and Chemical Hazards: A Comparative Analysis of Vinyl and Other Alternatives for Health Care

As currently produced, no resilient flooring option commonly used in health care is perfectly hazard free. The material types vary considerably in the amount, extent, and exposure to PBTs and other chemicals of concern that are involved in each material's life cycle and in the potential for future improvement. There are many opportunities for specifiers and purchasers to encourage manufacturers to reduce or eliminate the use and production of PBTs and chemicals of High Concern, primarily in the linoleum and polyolefin alternatives. With encouragement from the marketplace, some resilient flooring manufacturers can readily reformulate their products to virtually eliminate the PBTs and CMRs from manufacture, use and disposal. more 

Cleaning in Healthcare Facilities: Reducing Human Health Effects and Environmental Impacts

Healthcare settings require intensive and frequent cleaning with a wide range of products, both to maintain surface cleanliness, and to prevent and control infection. This document summarizes the main health and environmental impacts related to conventional surface cleaning, describes a systems approach for designing and implementing healthier and environmentally friendlier cleaning strategies for the healthcare sector, and indicates areas where future research and policy initiatives are needed. more 

GGHC's Health Care Waste Assessment Project

This report, produced by a partnership among the Local Government Unit of Baguio, Tertiary Hospitals in Baguio City and Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia, states that safe and sustainable management of health care waste is a serious responsibility of hospitals and an integral component of the operations of a health care system. It is also the responsibility of the government to allocate the necessary resources to develop, implement and monitor an appropriate health care waste management system which will ensure the safety of the health workers as well as the community. more 

End of an Era: The Phase-out of Mercury-Based Blood Pressure Devices in the U.S. and Its Implications for the Rest of the World

This brief report provides an overview of the tremendous success the US healthcare community has experienced in delivering safe, accurate, affordable mercury-free blood pressure measurement. more