Health Maters: Hospital Destroying Wastes By Using Ozone

Instead of destroying the ozone layer to dispose of its medical wastes, Terre Haute’s Union Hospital is destroying its medical wastes by using ozone. In fact,health club it’s the first place in the world to do so, says Ozonater Industries of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, which makes the Ozonater bio-hazardous waste disposal machine.

Most of us know ozone as the stuff in the upper atmosphere that filters ultraviolet light or as an air pollutant on the ground. However, according to information from Ozonater Industries, it also is “one of the most powerful microbicides known to science, effective at killing even the most resistant pathogens.”

According to an article in the Jan. 31 edition of The Leader-Post in Regina, which can be accessed at tinyurl.com/6j5e8c, the Ozonater is “said to reduce the cost of processing bio-hazardous waste by 50 percent, while preventing the release of toxins into the atmosphere and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.” That’s zero emission and there also is an up to 90 percent reduction in volume, according to information from Union Hospital.

Kristi Roshel, marketing/public relations manager for Union Hospital, says that each hospital bed creates between four and five pounds of medical waste, all of which must be disposed of in an environmentally safe manner. Medical waste consists of a number of substances, including blood, plastic tubing, gauze and diapers.

Medical waste produces greenhouse gases pound for pound. Union Hospital quotes Health Care Without Harm as noting that “69 percent of all the deadly dioxins emitted into the atmosphere are directly related to the incineration of medical waste.”

Instead of using incineration, the Ozonator sterilizes the waste (which has been shredded) with ozone so it can be placed directly into landfills after treatment. Any ozone left after treatment is converted back into oxygen.

It’s also serving as a people magnet, drawing visitors to Terre Haute to check out the new piece of equipment. “We’ve hosted lots of visitors from other countries,” Roshel said Wednesday. “I think we had some from India last week.”

Bend over. Now raise up. Do it again. And again. Move those arms, using a weight. Throw in a few squats. A bit later, stretch those arms out, give a tug, and then pull back.

Exercising? Yes, but in a fun and healthy way. Digging up the ground, planting seeds, and pulling weeds not only gives you that just-picked flavor health club, the act of gardening itself can contribute to your cardiovascular health.

Now about that produce: Making your garden colorful, with purple eggplant, green beans (and, yes, even zucchini), red tomatoes, yellow corn, orange sweet potatoes has it benefits. Not only does the color add to its beauty, it’s a great source “of many vitamins, minerals and other natural substances that may help protect you from chronic diseases,” says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of course, you do have to eat the fruits (so to speak) of your labors to get the nutritional benefits. Since eating a rainbow of fruits also is good for your health, you might want to add some red strawberries to your vegetable patch as well. In fact, plan ahead and plant an apple, cherry, peach and/or pear tree to reap (literally) the benefits of those, too.

Find out much more by going to www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov, which pretty much has everything you need to know about the health benefits — plus recipes and even an interactive feature that will let you know how many servings you need for your age and physical activity level.