Going Green: Out of Print

A Michigan hospital cashes in on used X-ray film

Email Print

Laurie Gebhart, image library assistant, places used X-ray film into collection bins. (Photo courtesy Beaumont Hospitals)

More companies and medical facilities are focusing on becoming more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. In our occasional Going Green department, rt image will highlight some of those efforts.

How do you get rid of more than 4,000 lbs of used X-ray film? No, it’s not a brainteaser; it’s a question that radiology departments across the country have had to consider in recent years.

The Beaumont Hospital radiology department in Troy, Mich., has been recycling approximately 4,300 lbs of X-ray film per year for more than a decade. David Claeys, MS, PA-C, director of radiology at Beaumont Hospital, says the initiative began for two reasons: the staff didn’t want to throw the film out if it could be recycled, and they were interested in getting a deposit back on used film.

Through an agreement with Inkster, Mich.-based Aghog-Detroit Co., Beaumont is reaping the benefits of the green movement. Aghog specializes in recovering silver from used photographic film, and the company collects film for several facilities in the Michigan area.

“We had some competitive bidding and ended up going with Aghog,” says Claeys. “At first, it was a big sell thinking of the cost, but it was also the right thing to do for the environment.”

In addition to reducing waste, the hospital is also seeing a return on its investment. AgHog picks up the hospital’s collected X-ray film, and after extracting the silver, the company issues payment to Beaumont based on the amount collected. The radiology department uses those funds to purchase additional film and upgrade equipment.

But recycling used film is only part of the overall greening efforts in Beaumont Hospital’s radiology department. “We try to put that money back toward purchasing more monitors and equipment to help us continue to become greener and not have to print images in the first place,” says Claeys.

The hospital is gradually becoming completely filmless, he adds. The 4,300 lbs of film that the department recycles annually is based on the needs of the hospital, but that number is decreasing. Upgraded monitors and PACS reading stations in the hospital’s emergency and operating rooms have decreased the need for printed images, but they have not entirely eliminated it.

“We print the film out if there’s a special need,” says Claeys. For instance, they would print film for a child who has a broken arm if his physician’s office doesn’t have a digital system. For radiologists in the hospital, film is rarely necessary because most images are digitally transferred from the imaging equipment to PACS reading stations. Claeys adds that about 80 percent of the operating rooms at Beaumont Hospital now have full viewing systems, which decreases the need for film.

And the Beaumont Hospital radiology department’s efforts don’t stop there. Claeys and his staff are considering other ways to become more environmentally friendly. The department has been making efforts to recycle paper, batteries, unsoiled gowns, and toner cartridges.

“Everything that we use we try to recycle as much as possible,” he says. “We’ve also decreased the generator strength on our machines that allows us to still get great images, but expose the patient to less radiation and use less electricity.”

The department is also looking into recycling plastic oral contrast agent containers, but they are awaiting approval from local and state regulatory commissions to see if certain pharmaceutical containers can be recycled.

The radiology department’s efforts have inspired Beaumont Hospital administrators to form a Green Team committee comprised of representatives from each hospital department. Claeys says the idea has expanded to a corporate Green Team for all three hospitals and ambulatory centers in the Beaumont Hospitals healthcare system.

Since 2008, Beaumont Hospitals’ Green Team has been committed to implementing cost-effective solutions to reduce waste, conserve energy, and educate employees on conservation. Through the team’s efforts, Beaumont Hospitals are implementing new strategies that will continue to make the health system an innovator in green practices.

Frank Fraser is editorial assistant for rt image. He can be reached at ffraser@valleyforgepress.com. Direct comments and questions to editorial@rt-image.com. rt image would like to extend a special thanks to Rebecca Ludwig, PhD, FAEIRS, director of radiology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, for helping implement the Going Green department.