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TOWARD GREENER DIALYSIS: A CASE STUDY TO ILLUSTRATE AND ENCOURAGE THE SALVAGE OF REJECT WATER
Author(s) -
Connor Andrew,
Milne Steve,
Owen Andrew,
Boyle Gerard,
Mortimer Frances,
Stevens Paul
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of renal care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.381
H-Index - 27
eISSN - 1755-6686
pISSN - 1755-6678
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-6686.2010.00153.x
Subject(s) - reverse osmosis , medicine , dialysis , process (computing) , resource (disambiguation) , operations management , environmental planning , natural resource economics , engineering , environmental science , surgery , economics , computer science , genetics , membrane , biology , computer network , operating system
SUMMARY Climate change is now considered to be a major global public health concern. However, the very provision of health care itself has a significant impact upon the environment. Action must be taken to reduce this impact. Water is a precious and finite natural resource. Vast quantities of high‐grade water are required to provide haemodialysis. The reverse osmosis systems used in the purification process reject approximately two‐thirds of the water presented to them. Therefore, around 250 litres of ‘reject water’ result from the production of the dialysate required for one treatment. This good quality reject water is lost‐to‐drain in the vast majority of centres worldwide. Simple methodologies exist to recycle this water for alternative purposes. We describe here a case study of the only UK renal service we know to have implemented such water‐saving methodologies. We outline the benefits in terms of financial and environmental savings.