Julianna Sommers

ISM

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18 October 2018

Hospitals are scrambling to solve their air pollution issue- November 30, 2018

1. Chemicals used in the operating room in hospitals are more potent than the deadly carbon

dioxide that is already polluting the air. About ten percent of greenhouse emissions are

from the healthcare systems; while anesthesia takes up 5 percent of the carbon in the

medical field. Gasses such as nitrous oxide have a much higher global warming potential

comparing to carbon dioxide. OSHA is giving recommendations to hospitals about how

to reduce air pollution, while to U.S does not have any regulations on the gasses hospitals

emit. Even though nitrous oxide damages the ozone layer, it was not named in the 1987

Montreal Protocol, limiting ozone depleting substances. Many facilities have interest in

recycled anesthetic, but it would cost about $50,000 just for one unit to help recycle the

gasses. Many physicians keep in contact with the FDA to find new ways to conserve the

gasses.

2. My project topic is how anesthetic gasses are transmitted to nurses in the PACU post-

surgery. This article connects to my topic because the article explains how the gasses are

affected the air. “Hospitals in the United States primarily rely on four anesthetic gases:

nitrous oxide, sevoflurane, isoflurane, and desflurane. These gases don’t undergo any

chemical changes when they’re inhaled and exhaled—they go out in almost the same

form they came in” (Wetsman). This relates to my topic because when patients go into
 surgery and receive nitrous gas anesthesia, and then then wake up in the PACU and

breathing the gasses onto the nurse. While the article talks about how anesthesia effects

the climate in a large way, it also gets transmitted from patient to nurse in the PACU.

After reading the article and seeing how much the gasses affect the earths ozone layer,

imagine how they affect people’s bodies when they are transmitted. Doctors are all

working together to find ways to make anesthesia greener for the atmosphere and

patients.

3. In my opinion, I feel that this article was very good, I like how the doctors and scientists

are working together to try and eliminate some of the air pollution due to anesthetic gas.

This shows how some anesthesiologists do care about how their treatments are affecting

people and the environment. In the article it states that any surgeon would never say yes

to doing an open-heart surgery without anesthetic. While a surgeon may not do the

surgery without anesthetic, they are willing to use new ways to administer the anesthetic.

The article did not evoke emotions too much. I feel that the only emotions this evoked

was doctors and anesthesiologists being happy to find new solutions the anesthetics. “The

Occupational Safety and Health Administration has recommendations in place to reduce

exposure to the gases inside of the hospital or operating room, but in the United States

there aren’t any regulations on how much of these gases a building can emit”.(Wetsman)

In my opinion this statement could bring some anger, because if the anesthetic gas effects

the ozone then why is it not banned. Many may argue it’s a required drug for surgery

when surgeons could find other ways and solutions to reduce air pollution.

4. Wetsman, Nicole. “Hospitals Are Scrambling to Solve Their Air Pollution Issue.”

Popular Science, 30 Nov. 2017, www.popsci.com/anesthesia-greenhouse-gas.