Carbon footprint of dermatologic surgery

Healthcare is a potent emitter of greenhouse gases amounting up to 7% of total estimated greenhouse gas emissions (CO2e) for Australia. Australia has one of the highest incidences of skin cancer in the world but there is a paucity of data on the ecological impact of skin cancer excision/dermatologic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Australasian journal of dermatology 2021-05, Vol.62 (2), p.e170-e177
Main Authors: Tan, Eugene, Lim, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acidification
Australia
climate change
dermatologic surgical procedures
ecosystem
global warming
Greenhouse gases
Life cycles
Skin cancer
skin neoplasms
Surgery
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Healthcare is a potent emitter of greenhouse gases amounting up to 7% of total estimated greenhouse gas emissions (CO2e) for Australia. Australia has one of the highest incidences of skin cancer in the world but there is a paucity of data on the ecological impact of skin cancer excision/dermatologic surgery. The authors reviewed the various impact inventories in order to perform a life cycle assessment of skin cancer excision. A total of 8641 tonnes of estimated CO2e are produced from dermatologic surgery annually in Australia (6751 tonnes from private clinical rooms and 1890 tonnes from hospitals) and the waste generated contributes significantly to terrestrial ecotoxicity and acidification of land and water. Various means can be carried out to reduce this impact, ranging from simple behavioural changes to larger, policy changes.
ISSN:0004-8380
1440-0960
DOI:10.1111/ajd.13522