13th APFCB Congress, Bali, 28 Oct 2013
The Next Frontier
for Laboratories Going Green
Joseph Lopez
Associate Professor and
Head,
Dept. of Biomedical Sciences,
MAHSA University
Kuala Lumpur
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Objective of this talk
To create an awareness of the environmental
impact of clinical laboratories
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Laboratory
Human activity
Greenhouse gases
Global warming and climate change
Labs have a societal responsibility to reduce the environmental
consequences of their activities
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Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Sept 2012; 50(9):1559-64
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Content
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Causes of global warming
Evidence for global warming
Why labs are a source of global warming
Environmental policy for labs
Guidelines for good environmental
practices
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Causes of Global Warming
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Greenhouse Gases
• Greenhouse gases cause global
warming
• Notably:
–
–
–
–
carbon dioxide – ~80%
methane
nitrous oxide
fluorinated gases
• Greenhouse gases trap the sun's
rays within the Earth's
atmosphere
• Sources of greenhouse gases:
–
–
–
–
energy production,
deforestation,
agriculture
waste disposal
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http://www.whatsyourimpact.eu.org/main-greenhouse-gases.php
Energy and Greenhouse Gases
Energy production
Production and use of
energy is the primary
cause of global warming
CO2
Global warming
http://www.globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/us-impacts/climatechange-impacts-by-sector/energy-supply-and-use
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http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-causes/
Evidence that atmospheric CO2 has increased
since the Industrial Revolution
(Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA)
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http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
Is Global Warming Happening?
There is scientific consensus on the basic facts
of global warming
TheThe
most
most
respected
respected
scientific
scientific
bodies
bodies
have
have
stated
stated
that:that:
1. global warming is occurring
2. people are causing it
• Earth has been warming for 100 years
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in
2007, the reported that 11 of the 12 warmest
years since 1850 occurred between 1995 and
2006
http://www.edf.org/climate/how-we-know-the-earth-is-warming
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http://www.edf.org/climate/global-warming-facts
Global Temperature, 1850-2000
Temperature records since 1850 show:
1. warming of the Earth over the past century
2. particularly rapid heating over the past few decades
http://www.edf.org/climate/how-we-know-the-earth-is-warming
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Impacts from Rising Temperatures
• Floods and droughts more common
• Less fresh water available
• Rising sea levels
• Climate change
• Ocean acidification
• Changes in ecosystem
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Shrinking ice sheets
• Global warming has
effect on the world’s
ice masses such as:
– mountain glaciers
– ice sheets covering
West Antarctica and
Greenland,
– Arctic sea ice
Flowing meltwater from the
Greenland ice sheet
http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
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Shrinking ice sheets
• The Greenland and
Antarctic ice sheets have
decreased in mass.
– Greenland and
Antarctica decreased at
least 150 cubic
kilometers a year since
2002 and 2006
Flowing meltwater from the
Greenland ice sheet
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http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
Ice is melting worldwide, especially at the
Earth’s poles.
Summertime sea ice cover over the Arctic Ocean is also declining, and in
some areas this ice cover is thinning rapidly.
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Source: Economist, June 16-22, 2012
http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/files/2012/06/Figure3.png
The National Snow and Ice Data Center
Advancing knowledge of Earth's frozen regions
449 UCB University of Colorado Boulder, CO 80309-0449
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Source:Guardian
Arctic sea ice has plummeted to its lowest levels ever this year (2012)
Photgraph: Steven J Kazlowski/Alamy; Source: Guardian 28 June 2012
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Source: Economist, June 16-22 2012
Source: Daily Telegraph, 19 Nov 2009
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Source: Economist, June 16-22, 2012
Denver Glacier in Recession
1912
1938
1958
Glacial retreat
Most mountain glacier regions are in decline.
Glaciers are retreating in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska
and Africa
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http://nsidc.org/news/press/day_after/q2.html
Rise of Sea Level, 1860-2008
• Global sea level rose about 17 cm (6.7 in.) in the last century.
• However, the rate in the last decade is nearly double that of
the last century.
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http://www.edf.org/climate/how-we-know-the-earth-is-warming
Ocean acidification
• Increased human activity has
increased CO2 emissions into the
atmosphere which is absorbed into the
oceans.
• Since start of the Industrial Revolution,
the acidity of surface ocean waters has
increased by about 30%.
http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
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Changes in Ecosystems
• Adélie penguins on Antarctica:
– from 32,000 breeding pairs to 11,000 in
30 years.
• Some butterflies, foxes, and alpine plants
– have moved farther north or to higher,
cooler areas.
• Polar bears: since the mid-1980s,
– polar bears have gotten considerably
skinnier, with less ice on which to live
and fish for food
– If sea ice disappears, the polar bears
may as well.
• Some diseases will spread, such as malaria
carried by mosquitoes
Source for climate information: IPCC, 2007
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Energy Consumption of Laboratories
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Global Medical Labs Market
• Global Medical Laboratories Market to Reach
US$102 Billion by 2018
(Global Industry Analysts, Inc.)
•http://www.prweb.com/releases/medical_laboratories/clinical_laboratories/prweb9693406.htm
(accessesd 3 Nov 2012)
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Energy Usage of Laboratories
• Labs are energy intensive
• Labs use 5 to 10 times more energy per
square foot than an average office building
US EPA states that Labs can reduce energy
use by 30 to 50%
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Guidelines to reduce
environmental impact
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Survey of IFCC members on the mitigation of the environmental impact of
laboratories December- January 2010
Yes
No
Don’t
know
Besides proper waste disposal, are you aware of clinical
laboratories in your country that have Action Plans to
reduce their environmental impact by way of
reduced power and water usage, reduced utilization of
plastics, chemicals and paper, greater recycling of
material, reduced use of fuels, encouraging staff to use
less energy, etc.
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16
4
Have clinical labs in your country addressed the issue of
carbon footprints of laboratories?
3
21
6
Do you think that it would be helpful if the IFCC provided
some basic guidelines to clinical laboratories on how
they could reduce their carbon footprint
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0
2
Are you aware of ISO14000 standards and what they
relate to?
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17
-
Do you know of any clinical laboratories in your country
that have received ISO14000 certification?
2
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Question
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Environmental policy
COMMITMENT
Initial costs
offset by
long term savings
Support of
senior
management
Announce
Environmental
POLICY
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Elements of an Environmental Policy
• Corporate Social Responsibility – to include responsibility on
stewardship of the environment
• Minimise / eliminate activities which impact environmental
• Minimise consumption
• Reduce waste through the reduction, reuse or recycling of
materials.
• Implement good waste management systems for pathology
waste
• Review environmental practices at least annually.
• Commitment to heighten environmental awareness
– Provide staff education
– Advocacy: encourage customers, suppliers and other
stakeholders to mirror commitment to environmental
responsibility.
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Create
awareness
Training
Trainng
Available
legislation
Preliminary
environmental
review
Target
setting
Action Plan
Audits
Documentation
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Environmental Management System
Plan
Act
Continuous
improvement
Do
Check
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Integration of EMS with QMS
• Principles, procedures for EMS and QMS are same
• EMS and QMS should be integrated
EMS
ISO 14001
QMS
ISO 15189
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Raise awareness
Staff Training
Ways of reducing
environmental impact
Identify areas of
waste reduction
Reward workable ideas
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Lab Environmental Manager
• Appoint a Lab Environmental Manager to be incharge of the EMS
• Initially, an existing staff member
• Should work closely with QMS manager
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3Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
main pillars of efforts for environmental improvement
Each activity to mitigate environmental impact will
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come under one or more of these headings.
3Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce
consumption of energy, natural resources and unsafe
products.
Reuse
• Reuse as much as possible before replacing
• Replace as far as is possible, with reusable items.
Recycle
• ensure items/components are put to new purpose
as much as possible
• recycling program should be financially sound
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Some Proposals for Mitigation of
Environmental Impact
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Green purchasing policy
Purchase goods, services:
• that minimize negative environmental impacts
• From suppliers who share lab’s commitment to environment
Recycled products
Recyclable products
Packaging
Locally produced
(where possible)
Ordering patterns
Transportation
Manufacturing
Less toxic
Disposal
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Equipment selection
• Factor in the environmental impact of
the equipment at evaluation
• Purchase energy-efficient equipment
• Priority to equipment with a lesser
environmental footprint in regard to:
– Water consumption.
– air-conditioning or heating requirements
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Reagent selection
Where possible use
• Alternatives to reagents
with harmful ingredients.
• Use smaller test kits less packaging which
require less refrigeration
• Locally produced
reagents - smaller
carbon footprint when
transported
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Packaging wastes
• Persuade disposal
contractors to provide
reusable containers for the
disposal of laboratory
sharpes.
• May be achieved by the use
of Stericycle® bio boxes (in
USA)
• A pilot study at Harvard
Medical School saved 2,026
lbs of plastic from reusable
sharp bins.
Sharps Disposal Container for Stericycle
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Packaging wastes
Labs
• produce large amounts of solid wastes
• should reduce solid waste volume
Where possible negotiate with
vendors to:
• Use less packaging
• use biodegradable or
recyclable packaging
• take back packaging for reuse.
•
Labs may reuse packaging boxes for sending out items
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Laboratory furniture
Where possible purchase:
• used or reusable laboratory
furniture
• environmentally-friendly
furniture.
Thermo Scientific Hamilton
Distinction® II Adaptable Laboratory
Furniture System.
Constructed from environmentally
friendly materials and manufacturing
processes
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Reducing energy usage and wastage
• Laboratories consume more energy per
square foot, often x5 as much compared
with non-laboratory buildings such as
offices.
• Clean-rooms: consumption can be is 10100-times higher.
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Lighting in Labs
• Lighting in
laboratories is up to
x2 that of a typical
office space.
• Lighting energy use
typically accounts for
8% to 25% of total
electricity use
• Use LED lighting
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http://www.i2sl.org/documents/toolkit/bp_lighting_508.pdf, accessed 3 Nov 2012
Fume Hoods
• Use enormous amounts of
energy
• Typical fume hood (USA)
that runs 24 hours a day,
365 days a year uses X3.5
more energy than the
average house.
• New models allow
significant energy
reduction.
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Source: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~epsgreen/labs.html
Recycling of Solvents
• Recycling of solvents
Xylene, alcohol, formalin by
CBG Biotech Supreme
Solvent Recycler
• 90-95% recovery
• Cost-savings
Xylene, alcohol
benchtop recycler;
10 L CBG model
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*Courtesey, Badrick T, Sullivan Nicolaides, Australia
Good Practices
• Daily “end of day” lab and office walk-throughs - to
manually close lights equipment, instruments.
• Chiller/heat temperature and humidity controls adjust according to the seasonal demands.
• Analytical equipment and processes: shut down
when not in use
• Regular equipment maintenance
• Consolidate equipment and instruments of different
units of the laboratory where feasible.
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Transportation
Vehicles
select fuel-efficient
fleet vehicles
review routes and
usage
Staff
encourage and
provide incentives to
laboratory staff to use
public transport or
bicycles
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Reduction
• Reduction of test numbers
– audits of tests requested and their
usefulness to identity unnecessary
requests
• Reduction in the use of collection
tubes
• Reuse of specimen collection bags
• Paper management to reduce usage
• Waste reduction
• Water Usage
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Paper Usage
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
• Reduce:
– introduction of paperless systems;
– Introduction of non-paper options
where possible
• Reuse: Print and photocopy
double-sided
• Recycle
• Paper usage audits
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Clean Water
•
Deionised water
–
•
Consider resin technologies instead of
Reverse Osmosis systems, since the
latter are wasteful of water and energy.
Perform an audit of water usage
and look for ways to reduce water
usage
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Environmentally-friendly buildings
• The Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) - an internationally
recognized green building certification system
• The LEED standard has been adopted in the
USA as the industry standard of
measurement for green buildings
• Such buildings:
– use environmentally preferable materials
– reuse building materials
– Achieve energy reduction through
modifications and operational changes
– have improved water-usage efficiency and
waste handling
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Advocacy - Influencing others
• Staff:
– engage in carbon-offsetting
activities
• Vendors:
– Contractual conditions on vendors to be more
environmentally friendly in dealings with the
laboratory
– to supply instruments that consume less energy,
water and produce less waste.
– powered reagents requiring reconstitution - leaves a
smaller carbon footprint when transported
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What we need to do
• Make a commitment
• Reduce disposables:
– Wash and reuse
– use less plastics
• Reduce energy consumption
• Buy:
–
–
–
–
powdered reagents reconstituted at point of usage
chemicals in reusable/returnable containers
Take back packaging
Instruments that consume less energy, water
• Remember: Cost savings in good environmental
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practices
Thank you
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