Carbon footprint of a chemotherapy production unit: assessment within a hospital pharmacy
3 October 2024
M. Chabane1, C. Fagnoni-Legat1, C. Hosotte2, M. Jehl-Rave1, G. Barbier1, S. Bonnot-Perrin1, L. Carrez2, S. Limat1,3, M. Kroemer1,31 CHU de Besançon, Pharmacie, Besançon, F-25000, France
2 Department of pharmacy, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
3 Université de Franche-Comté, EFS, INSERM UMR RIGHT, Besançon, F-25000, France
Background
In the last decade, the environmental impact assessment is becoming a major concern for human activities, and this hold true for health. French healthcare sector emits approximately 49 million tons of CO2 equivalents (CO2eq) per year (1). This account for 8% of the total national GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions, of which 38% were attributable to hospitals. In this context, assessing the carbon footprint of resource-consuming unit like cytotoxic drugs production unit (CPU) is essential to promote environmental sustainability. The aim of this study was to assess the carbon footprint of a CPU.
Methods
A retrospective study was conducted in a French CPU producing more than 51,000 preparations per year in 2022. Global warming impact of CO2eq. emissions was determined for medicines (using the French monetary Emission Factor), single-use material (using the Base Empreinte® database), energy of electrical devices, staff transportation and waste.
Results
The carbon footprint of the CPU was equal to 18.230,7 tons of CO2eq. Antineoplastic drugs accounted for more than 18.179 tons CO2eq. emissions. Excluding the medication part, it was equal to 51.7 tons of CO2eq. More precisely the distribution of CO2 eq. emissions sources were staff transportation (35.9%), waste (21.1%), single use sterile medical devices (18.1%), energy consumption (9.3%), disposable personal protective equipment (8.5%), and solvent bags and bottles (7.1%).
Conclusion
This study prompt us to identify the main sources of GHG emissions witin a CPU. Areas for improvement to reduce global warming impact might be deprescribing of antineoplastic drugs, staff transport reduction using telecommuting or carpooling and rethinking our production process to reduce waste production (2).
(1) The Shift Project. Décarbonner la santé pour soigner durablement. Rapport final, version 2023
(2) Lattanzio S, Stefanizzi P, D’ambrosio M, Cuscianna E, Riformato G, Migliore G, et al. Waste Management and the Perspective of a Green Hospital—A Systematic Narrative Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 28 nov 2022;19(23):15812.