First Do No Harm

Ten years ago, an EPA report revealed that medical waste incinerators were a major source of airborne carcinogens, and hospitals across the country were criticized for using mercury thermometers, burning plastics, and allowing used syringes to wash up on beaches.“It caused a real uproar in local communities,” says Adele Houghton of Health Care Without Harm, an international non-profit that was formed in 1996 in response to the waste incineration problem. The hospitals polluted the air and water, causing a rise in chronic diseases, she says. “It’s a vicious cycle—especially when your mission is supposed to be ‘first do no harm.’”Read more at...Plenty, December 2006.

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The Most Beautiful Painting You've Ever Heard: Inside Synesthesia