Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Gastrointestinal Biopsies in a Surgical Pathology Laboratory

The biopsy process at a large academic pathology laboratory was grouped into steps. Each supply and reagent was catalogued and postuse treatment noted. Energy consumption was estimated for capital equipment. Two common scenarios were considered: 1 case with 1 specimen jar (scenario 1) and 1 case with 3 specimen jars (scenario 2).

Scenario 1 generated 0.29 kg of carbon dioxide equivalents (kg CO₂e), whereas scenario 2 resulted in 0.79 kg CO₂e—equivalent to 0.7 and 2.0 miles driven, respectively. The largest proportion of GHGs (36%) in either scenario came from the tissue processor step. The second largest contributor (19%) was case accessioning, mostly attributable to production of single-use disposable jars.