The carbon footprint of diagnostic imaging
Dr SCOTT MCALISTER Research Fellow, University of Sydney
Carbon impact of Australian healthcare
about the carbon impacts of individual healthcare
On September 8, 2022, the Australian Senate
items or procedures. This lack of knowledge makes
passed legislation enshrining a 43 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, and net
effective mitigation strategies for healthcare difficult — as the business maxim states, “you can’t
zero emissions by 2050.1 This means all sectors of
manage what you don’t measure”.
the Australian economy will have to significantly
Carbon impacts of diagnostic imaging
reduce their emissions. While not often thought of as a high emitter, healthcare is responsible for approximately 7% of Australia’s emissions2, or half of the 14% of emissions arising from Australia’s entire construction industry (houses, commercial buildings, pipelines, dams, roads, and rail). Work that has been undertaken by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) shows that only 10% of carbon emissions arise from buildings, with approximately 60% originating from the procurement of consumables, equipment, and pharmaceuticals.3 This demonstrates that healthcare will have to find reductions in the way it provides clinical care, while not harming patients. At the moment, however, very little is known
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The Health Advocate • NOVEMBER 2022
We have investigated the carbon impacts of diagnostic imaging, focusing on hospital MRI and CT scans, chest X-rays and ultrasounds.4 Our research used a method called environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), which aggregates the carbon emissions from all parts of a product or service’s life cycle, from raw material extraction (e.g. mining or agriculture etc), through to manufacture, use, and finally to end-of-life (landfill and recycling). We measured the power consumed by each scanner for a two-week period, and determined the weight and composition of all the consumables used by patients and staff, including laundered cotton sheets, gloves for radiology staff, contrast agent,
