New Environmentally Efficient Contrast-Medium Packaging Developed

Medical imaging contrast agents are normally packaged in glass bottles which are energy-intensive to make, and are breakable. After their use glass contrast-agent bottles need to be separated from other medical waste, and must be autoclaved, and disposed of in landfill. In addition, shipping heavy glass bottles by air-freight is expensive and contributes carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

A Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA) in the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment compared a single-dose (96 mL) +PLUSPAK polymer bottle to a traditional glass contrast media packaging bottle. The study looked at categories such as human health impacts, resources and ecosystems, ReCiPe LCA categories, and cumulative energy demand. The study conformed to the International Standards Organization ISO 14040/14044 standards and included a third-party critical review.

The results of the study show that the polymer packaging outperforms the glass bottle in every environmental category that was investigated. Reasons for the improved performance are due to lower material requirements, and lower manufacturing, distribution, end-of-life, and disposal impacts.

The +PLUSPAK polymer bottle was developed by GE Healthcare (Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, UK) as part of GE's ecoimagination program. All GE Healthcare Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and iodinated contrast media can be packaged the new polymer bottles.

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