Alaska Community Action on Toxics is currently working to promote a program called Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E) in coordination with various hospitals and medical facilities around the state. The primary goal of the H2E effort is to educate health care professionals about pollution prevention opportunities in hospitals and health care systems. Through activities, such as the development of best practices, model plans for total waste management, resource directories, and case studies, the project hopes to provide hospitals and health care systems with enhanced tools for minimizing the volumes of waste generated and the use of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals. Such reductions are beneficial to the environment and health of our communities. Furthermore, improved waste management practices will reduce the waste disposal costs incurred by the health care industry.

To achieve the program's goals, the American Hospital Association and the US Environmental Protection Agency signed a landmark agreement to advance pollution prevention efforts in our nation's health care facilities. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which is the cornerstone of the H2E
initiative, calls for:

• Virtually eliminating mercury-containing waste from health care
  facilities' waste streams by 2005

• Reducing the overall volume of waste (both regulated and non-regulated
  waste) by 33 percent by 2005 and by 50 percent by 2010

• Identifying hazardous substances for pollution prevention and waste
  reduction opportunities, including hazardous chemicals and persistent,
  bioaccumulative, and toxic pollutants.

ACAT is working to inform Alaska hospitals and clinics of the benefits of the Hospitals for a Healthy Environment program. For more information on the H2E program and opportunities please feel free to visit the website: http://www.h2e-online.org/.