Radiology Environmental Impact: What Is Known and How Can We Improve?

Sean A Woolen; Christine J Kim; Andrew M Hernandez; Amy Becker; Alastair J Martin; Edward Kuoy; William C Pevec; Sean Tutton

doi:10.1016/j.acra.2022.10.021

Radiology Environmental Impact: What Is Known and How Can We Improve?

Acad Radiol. 2023 Apr;30(4):625-630. doi: 10.1016/j.acra.2022.10.021. Epub 2022 Nov 16.

Authors

Sean A Woolen¹, Christine J Kim², Andrew M Hernandez³, Amy Becker⁴, Alastair J Martin⁴, Edward Kuoy⁵, William C Pevec⁶, Sean Tutton⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, UC San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Ave, San Francisco California, 94117 (S.A.W., A.B., A.J.M.). Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Radiology, UC Los Angeles, Los Angeles California (C.J.K.).
³ Department of Radiology, UC Davis Health, Sacramento California (A.M.H.).
⁴ Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, UC San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Ave, San Francisco California, 94117 (S.A.W., A.B., A.J.M.).
⁵ Department of Radiology, UC Irvine, Orange County California (E.K.).
⁶ Department of Surgery, UC Davis Health, Sacramento California (W.C.P.).
⁷ Department of Radiology, UC San Diego, San Diego California (S.T.).

PMID: 36400705
DOI: 10.1016/j.acra.2022.10.021

Abstract

The healthcare sector generates approximately 10% of the total carbon emissions in the United States. Radiology is thought to be a top contributor to the healthcare carbon footprint due to high energy-consuming devices and waste from interventional procedures. In this article, we provide a background on Radiology's environmental impact, describe why hospitals should add sustainability as a quality measure, and give a framework for radiologists to reduce the carbon footprint through quality improvement and collaboration.

Keywords: Climate change; Green radiology; Quality improvement; Sustainability.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Carbon Footprint
Delivery of Health Care
Humans
Radiology*
United States