Four DOH hospitals no longer using mercury thermometers

CEBU, Philippines – Four out of six hospitals retained by the Department of Health in Region 7 have set aside mercury thermometers in favor of digital and electronic thermometers, said Engr. Evangeline Canoneo, Environment Program Director of DOH-7.

These hospitals include the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital and Don Emilio del Valle Memorial Hospital in Bohol, Saint Anthony Mother and Child Hospital in Cebu City, and Talisay District Hospital in Talisay City. 

In the private sector, meanwhile, the H.W. Miller Memorial Sanitarium and Hospital in Cebu City has also said no to mercury-containing thermometers.

These hospitals, Canoneo said, have responded to DOH Administrative Order 2008-0021, which directs a gradual phase-out of mercury in all health care facilities and institutions in the Philippines.

Yesterday, a forum on “Environmentally Responsible Health Care Management” held at the University of Cebu- Banilad Campus updated health care professionals and service providers on areas of waste management in the region, particularly on the dangers of mercury contamination.

“One gram of mercury can contaminate a 20-acre lake. How much mercury does a single thermometer contain? One gram. That is the one gram that could contaminate your 20-acre lake,” said Dr. Irma Makalinao, toxicologist and professor of the University of the Philippines-Manila. — Karen Grace H. Yasi/JMO (THE FREEMAN)