NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 20, 2002

Contact: Stacy Malkan, 202-234-0091; Jamie Harvie, 218-525-7806

Market for mercury-containing products drying up as concern mounts

about mercury pollution, dangerous health effects

Washington, DC - HCA, Inc., the nation's largest for-profit hospital

chain, has agreed to phase out its mercury-containing medical

devices, signaling a major step forward for the growing movement

within the health care industry to stop mercury pollution at its

source.

"We commend HCA for removing a significant source of mercury to the

environment, and we urge other health care companies to follow suit,"

said Charlotte Brody, RN, director of Health Care Without Harm, an

international campaign for environmentally responsible health care

representing 350 groups in 38 countries.

HCA, Inc. has already stopped purchasing mercury-containing

thermometers and sphygmomanometers. The company joins other leading

health systems, including Mayo Clinic and the National Institutes of

Health clinical facilities, in ending use of those products. Nearly

700 hospitals nationwide have committed to phase out use of mercury

thermometers, and several states and major cities have banned their

sale or restricted their use. Legislation is also pending for a

national sales ban on mercury thermometers.

"The writing is on the wall for mercury-containing devices. The

market for mercury products is drying up and manufacturers and

distributors of those products should switch to safer materials

immediately. Since many hospitals are demanding mercury-free

alternatives, the time is also right for their purchasing agents to

stop buying mercury-containing products," said Jamie Harvie, mercury

workgroup leader for Health Care Without Harm.

"Other major health care companies, including HEALTHSOUTH, Manor

Care, Tenet and Cardinal need to take HCA's actions as a cue to

disclose their own commitments to reducing mercury pollution," Harvie

said.

HCA said it will phase out mercury-containing medical devices by

January 1, 2005, and will evaluate reducing other significant sources

of mercury. The decision was spurred by discussions with Boston-based

Walden Asset Management, a socially responsive investment firm. HCA

operates 196 hospitals and 78 freestanding surgery centers in 24 U.S.

states, England and Switzerland; and also operates preferred provider

organizations in 47 states and the District of Columbia.

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can affect the brain, spinal

cord, kidneys and liver. At least 41 states have advisories

restricting fish consumption due to mercury contamination. In 2001,

the Centers for Disease Control found that 10% of reproductive-age

American women already carry so much mercury in their blood that if

they got pregnant it could pose a threat of neurological damage to

the fetus. For more information about what you can do to stop mercury