Interesting that the response to JR's question should come from his own back
yard!!
Mr Patrick K Plunkett
Consultant/ Senior Lecturer in Emergency Medicine
Department of Emergency Medicine
St James's Hospital
Dublin 8
Ph:(+353 1) 416 2777
Fax (+353 1) 410 3451
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
http://www.stjames.ie/
http://www.tcd.ie/Clinical_Medicine/
-----Original Message-----
From: Max Hills [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 10 February 2003 15:43
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: nitrous oxide
According to the European Environmental Agency, no specific targets have
been set for nitrous oxide. The Kyoto Protocol target for 2008-2012 is a
reduction of 8% below 1990 levels for the basket of six gases including
nitrous oxide. These gases are: Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4),
Nitrous oxide (N2O), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and
Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).
In any case, medical applications do not seem to be a major source of
nitrous oxide emissions. A consultation paper by the UK Department for
Environment, Food & Rural Affairs on climate change lists the major sectoral
emission source of nitrous oxide as "refineries". According to the European
Environmental Agency the main sources of nitrous oxide (in 1998) included:
agriculture, mainly from organic and synthetic fertiliser use and leguminous
crops (61%); industrial processes, including adipic acid and nitric acid
production (22%). A small but rapidly increasing source is the transport
sector, as a result of the introduction of catalytic converters that, as a
side effect, increase nitrous oxide emissions. This increase, however, will
have limited impact on the overall trend.
Other sources include crop residues burning, solid waste of domesticated
animals, waste combustion and human sewage in wastewater. None of the
sources I found listed medical applications.
Both Ireland and the UK, along with 186 other countries have ratified the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto
protocol.
For information on nitrous oxide see:
http://themes.eea.eu.int/Environmental_issues/climate/indicators/nitrous_oxi
de_emissions/yir99cc3.pdf
For the list of signatories see: http://unfccc.int/resource/conv/ratlist.pdf
Max Hills
Clinical fellow in emergency medicine,
St. Vincent's University Hospital,
Dublin, Ireland.
-----Original Message-----
From: Accident and Emergency Academic List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of John Ryan
Sent: 09 February 2003 16:40
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: nitrous oxide
A thread from another list suggested that Nitrous oxide will be outlawed
under the Kyoto agreement (as a green house gas). I am not sure if this is
in the context of prehospital usage or if it will include hospital use (I
suspect not).
Remind me, did the UK and Ireland sign up to the Kyoto agrement and has
anyone else heard about this ?
John Ryan
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