The Impact of COVID-19 PPE on the Carbon Footprint of the Naval Postgraduate Dental School (NPDS)
Abstract
Introduction: Green dentistry aims at reducing the environmental impact of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions generated in dental offices, specifically CO2 emissions due to their effective heat-trapping property that affects public health and climate change. There is a knowledge gap in how much GHG dental offices produce and if COVID-19 affected the level of emissions. Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze the variation in carbon footprint from key Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) used at the Naval Post Graduate Dental School(NPDS) during the surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: From the Corporate Dental System (CDS) web-based patient scheduler, we collected procedure codes of all aerosol-generated procedures (AGP) and non-aerosol generated procedures (NAGP), from September 2018 to August 2021, designating two 18-month periods as 'pre-COVID-19' and 'during pandemic outbreak' periods. By using lifecycle assessment (LCA), we estimated the carbon footprint for the entire dental operation (September 2018 to August 2021) by applying the benchmark units of CO2 equivalent (CO2E) per selected PPE to NPDS procedure data. Results: PPE used at NPDS contributed 17,557 kg of CO2E pre-COVID-19 (18 months) and 17,655 kg of CO2E during the pandemic outbreak (18 months), which led to 0.6 percent increase. In the pre-COVID-19 period, disposable gowns were the primary contributors to the overall disposable PPE carbon footprint (13,285 kg CO2E). During the pandemic, shoe covers, and disposable gowns were the main contributors to the overall disposable PPE carbon footprint (approximately 6,000 kg CO2E each). Conclusions: Despite a decrease in the number of dental procedures delivered during the pandemic, there was a negligeable change in total PPE carbon footprint due to the increase in quantity and types of disposable PPE items used, during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-COVID-19.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1222417
Entities
People
- Sabrina J. Sincere-sombie
Organizations
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences