Across
- 2. The U.S. health sector is a significant contributor to these types of emissions, at approximately 8.5% of the national total.
- 4. Waste from injections, such as needles and syringes.
- 6. The primary source of many single-use plastic medical items.
- 8. Used in single-use medical devices, this is a major source of hospital waste.
- 9. Improperly disposed of medical waste can cause this type of contamination.
- 10. Hospitals incinerate waste, which releases these toxic pollutants.
- 11. A strategy that focuses on reducing waste by rethinking how materials are used and promoting reuse and recycling.
- 12. A process that produces steam to disinfect infectious waste, but also contributes to methane gas in landfills.
Down
- 1. A toxic metal found in some medical equipment, like old thermometers, that can contaminate the environment when improperly disposed of.
- 3. Anesthesia gases, like desflurane, contribute to this environmental crisis.
- 5. Unused or expired medication can be flushed into the sewage system, which is a major source of this type of pollution.
- 7. Medical facilities contribute to the saturation of these areas with non-biodegradable materials.