The 39 hospitals in Maine made themselves national leaders, according to a Maine environmental group, when they agreed to stop using mercury-containing supplies and medical equipment. The agreement, announced last week, was good news and an example of how an industry, working together, can make a major difference statewide.

The fit between health care and the environment is obvious, but hospitals, which handle and sometimes incinerate, a variety of hazardous materials, have large, complex challenges in becoming more environmentally friendly. The agreement among the Maine Hospital Association, the state, the Natural Resources of Maine, Maine People’s Alliance, the Toxics Action Center and the international group Health Care Without Harm would dramatically reduce mercury use by 2005, continually reduce the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thereby getting it out of the incineration stream, cut waste volume by 50 percent by 2010 and promote the use of environmentally clean products.

As Maine has moved toward tougher environmental standards during the past decade, Maine hospitals can take credit for being willing to review their practices and find more efficient, cleaner methods at their facilities without harming care. They have set a standard in Maine and now, according to the NRCM, in the country for their commitment to cutting waste. Their work has been recognized – the Environmental Protection Agency has lauded 13 Maine hospitals for their improved environmental results.

The Maine Hospital Association points out that hospitals here were cutting their use of mercury even before the latest agreement. And despite the complex issues around reducing waste, simple solutions sometimes can make a real impact. Cary Medical Center in Caribou, for instance, stopped sending new mothers home with mercury thermometers several years ago, Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick removed its mercury thermometers a decade ago and, more recently, Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta traded 1,500 mercury thermometers for digital ones, with the mercury being recycled. The hospitals have also found low-cost, effective alternatives to mercury-containing blood-pressure cuffs, fluorescent lamps, batteries, thermostats and electrical switches.

After the legislative debate last session over restrictions on the use of mercury – in, for instance, dental fillings – the active and conscientious stance by Maine hospitals was a welcome sign that this environmental issue need not degenerate into an activists v. users shouting match. The hospitals, with the support of environmental allies, have taken a positive step toward an improved environment in Maine.