Why Is It Important To Recycle Lead Garments, and What Is the Recycling Process?
Managing lead garments, such as aprons, vests, and thyroid collars, throughout their life cycle is crucial. That includes keeping garments clean, inspecting for any damage, and properly recycling or disposing of them when they come to the end of their lifespan. As with other forms of textile waste, responsible recycling prevents unnecessary environmental impact.
Given that protective garments used in radiology often contain lead, it’s essential to know how to handle and recycle them safely. Due to the safety requirements, governing bodies such as the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) have strict lead garment recycling processes to ensure healthcare facilities manage it appropriately. Incorporating lessons from recycled textiles, medical facilities can improve sustainability efforts across PPE materials.
Why is it important to recycle lead aprons and garments, and what does the recycling process include? This guide will help you manage each stage of the lead garment life cycle effectively. We’ll discuss the complete garment life cycle, the steps for safe disposal and recycling, and tips to help you ensure safety and compliance throughout your facility.
The Life Cycle of Lead Garments in Healthcare
Every lead garment used in healthcare facilities has a life cycle that’s important to manage. That includes purchasing and using the right types of personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep clinicians safe during procedures, maintaining it so it remains as effective as possible, and determining when garments have reached the end of their lifespan. Reducing PPE waste also helps lower greenhouse gas emissions associated with overproduction and disposal.
Similar to textile waste recycling efforts in consumer goods, lead garment recycling maximizes resource recovery. Here’s an overview of what you should know at each stage.
Why Lead Garments Are Necessary
Lead garments used in healthcare, such as aprons, vests, skirts, and thyroid collars, are an essential form of X-ray protection for clinicians using equipment that emits high doses of radiation. That can include performing regular diagnostic X-rays or using equipment like C-arms and fluoroscopy for real-time imaging during interventional surgery.
To give an example of the danger of operating without lead PPE, research from AORN showed that the average C-arm emits 20 mSv (2 rem) of radiation per minute. OSHA’s limit for occupational radiation exposure to the whole body is 12.5 mSv per quarter. Therefore, using a C-arm for just one minute without lead shielding could exceed that limit.
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that exceeding radiation dose limits set by governing bodies like OSHA leads to several health risks, such as an increased risk of cancer, cataracts, blood damage, or tissue damage, so it is harmful to operate without the proper protection.
Fortunately, garments such as lead aprons can significantly reduce the radiation doses clinicians are exposed to. A study from the Journal of Clinical Orthopedic Trauma found that lead aprons could reduce occupational radiation doses by up to 99%, making them an essential part of radiation safety practices. Even the fashion industry is exploring similar protective materials for high-tech and safety wearables.
Managing the Lead Garment Life Cycle and Increasing Longevity of Lead PPE
As healthcare facilities use PPE, it’ll accumulate wear and tear over time and eventually need to be disposed of and replaced. Throughout that process, you’ll want to have garments regularly inspected to check their condition, ensure they’re remaining as effective as possible, and perform any repairs if needed. Responsible disposal brings both environmental and economic benefits, such as reduced landfill waste and material reuse.
Why Lead Apron Inspections Are Crucial for Safety
Healthcare facilities must regularly inspect lead garments because damage to the protective material can reduce their effectiveness. A study from Radiography Open found that damage such as cracks, holes, or tears in lead aprons could reduce their protective capabilities, allowing more radiation to reach the wearer. The textile industry has long faced similar challenges with quality degradation in protective apparel.
Another study from the Journal of Health Physics also showed that damage to lead aprons can progress rapidly by up to 270% in 10 months. Therefore, even small tears in the attenuation material are important to identify early and repair as soon as possible.
We recommend performing X-ray inspections for lead garments annually to identify defects and determine if garments must be repaired or replaced. A study in 2018 found that regular radiographic inspections were the best way to identify small pinholes in lead garments, significantly outperforming tactile or visual inspections. By integrating recycled materials into protective garments, facilities can extend product life while reducing raw material dependency.
The Importance of Cleaning and Disinfection for Lead Garments
Another regular safety measure healthcare facilities should take during each lead garment’s life cycle is performing regular deep cleaning and disinfection.
AORN’s current guidelines for 2025 show that lead PPE, including aprons, vests, skirts, and thyroid collars, has some of the highest contamination rates between 62.5% and 100%. Lead garments are high-touch objects regularly coming into contact with bacteria, fluids, dirt, and germs during operations, so a significant amount of buildup can occur during use.
AORN recommends performing quarterly deep cleaning and disinfection for all high-touch objects in medical facilities to completely remove potential contaminants and ensure your staff and patients remain safe. Reducing the need for virgin textile production is one way to lessen environmental burdens across industries.
We know that healthcare facilities don’t always have the time or resources to perform thorough cleaning and disinfection in-house for all garments, so we offer services that can help at Radiological Care Services (RCS). Our deep cleaning and disinfection services follow protocols recommended by governing bodies such as the CDC and EPA while helping you operate as efficiently as possible.
When Lead PPE Recycling and Replacement Are Necessary
When you use our lead garment inspection and deep cleaning services at RCS, one of the things we’ll check for is whether garments meet or exceed established rejection criteria. This also helps reduce the demand for raw materials, which are becoming more costly and harder to source.
A study by K. Lambert and T. McKeon established strict rejection criteria for lead aprons and other PPE. The findings suggest that lead garments should be replaced when:
Defects exceed 15 mm2 over crucial organs, such as the thyroid, breasts, or gonads
Defects exceed 670 mm2 along the seams, in overlapping areas, or along the back
Defects exceed 11 mm2 for thyroid shields
When garments meet or exceed this criterion, our team can help you efficiently source replacements from top manufacturers. We can also assist with hospital lead apron disposal or recycling to ensure it’s done safely, following standards set by governing bodies like the EPA.
Proper disposal and recycling of lead PPE is crucial since it can be considered hazardous waste in healthcare. When handled incorrectly, lead garments could pose a hazard to the environment and human health and safety.
Why Is the Recycling Process for Lead Garments Necessary?
The strict process for lead apron disposal or recycling is necessary because lead is listed as a highly toxic substance by the EPA.
While lead PPE is safe during use in healthcare, when disposed of or recycled incorrectly, lead garments can have a harmful environmental impact and be damaging to human health due to how the materials decompose over time. As a result, the EPA has set strict regulations for lead handling and disposal that healthcare facilities must follow.
Given the EPA’s regulations, maintaining compliance for hazardous waste management in healthcare includes using the proper protocols for lead PPE disposal and recording disposal or recycling methods in case of audits.
While those standards for recycling and disposal can be a lot for healthcare teams on busy schedules to follow, other solutions are available that can help. We offer garment disposal services at RCS that follow the EPA’s guidelines and record the disposal process to help you maintain compliance and be ready for audits, allowing you to manage it more efficiently.
What Are the Risks of Improper Lead Garment Disposal?
Lead’s toxicity and classification as hazardous waste mean that it poses several risks for public health and environmental contamination.
The EPA states that improper disposal of lead can contaminate water sources and soil, increasing the risk of lead poisoning in communities.
Another study from Reviews on Environmental Health found that improperly disposed lead can have numerous health effects in communities, including:
Developmental delays in children
Reproductive health issues
Increased risk of high blood pressure and pain
Neurological damage
Lastly, a study in 2020 and another in 2023 both showed that the effects of lead on soil and plant growth can have a serious impact on the food chain, leading to health risks for humans and animals.
Fortunately, following the appropriate disposal and recycling procedures can prevent these risks from occurring.
What Is the Process of Recycling Lead?
Performing EPA-certified disposal or recycling requires following strict federal regulations to ensure proper labeling and safe lead waste handling at each stage:
Identification and labeling: Facilities must determine hazardous waste status while preparing for lead garment recycling. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) lists criteria to evaluate lead content and potential for contaminating the environment and requires labeling any garments that meet those criteria as hazardous waste.
Safe storage: OSHA states that any garments that meet the criteria for hazardous waste must be stored in leak-proof containers that are properly labeled. Facilities must adhere to specific timeframes and quantities that limit how much and how long the waste can be stored on-site, which varies by the amount of waste generated.
Recycling: All lead garments must be sent to EPA-permitted hazardous waste recycling facilities that are equipped to handle the materials safely. The EPA promotes lead recycling whenever possible to conserve resources and reduce the impact on the environment.
Documentation: The EPA requires that facilities keep documentation of waste identification and disposal methods for a minimum of three years. Large Quantity Generators (LQGs) that generate high amounts of waste may also have to submit reports to the EPA every two years. In addition, any local documentation requirements must be followed to maintain regional compliance.
What Is the Most Important Step in the Recycling Process?
There isn’t one single most important step in the recycling process. Each step must be managed carefully according to the EPA’s guidelines to maintain safety and hazardous waste compliance. Some important elements to pay attention to within the process that can go overlooked include:
Careful assessment of garment condition. Many of the criteria for lead PPE rejection that were established by K. Lambert and T. McKeon are for very small defects. For example, a 15 mm2 crack, hole, or tear in a garment would be about the size of the head of a pushpin. Therefore, you must perform inspections carefully each time.
Proper documentation and chain of custody. Documentation and noting the chain of custody are essential for each step of the process to ensure compliance. EPA documentation has strict standards, so make sure each detail is handled according to the set standards.
Selecting the right providers. When you outsource lead garment recycling and disposal, make sure they use EPA-certified processes and provide you with documentation for each step taken.
Facilities looking for a provider can rely on our services at RCS. We use EPA-approved processes for garment disposal and recycling while also helping with inventory management and lead garment tracking using our RADCOMPLY™ software. Our tracking process ensures you have all the documentation you need readily available in case of audits.
What Is the Process of Recycling Clothes – Are There Parallels?
There are some parallels between how clothing fabric is reduced, reused, and recycled, and how lead garments are recycled and reused.
When you’re looking at textile recycling companies or searching for textile recycling near me, each of those companies will use recycling processes for clothing that involve either shredding the materials into small fibers or melting them down into small granules. Then manufacturers can use those materials to spin new yarn or form new fabrics that they can use for new clothing.
Similarly, when you recycle lead aprons and other PPE, the lead core in the garments is melted down and used for new products, while the outer layer is shredded or melted for reuse. Therefore, recycling lead garments is highly beneficial since many of the materials are reusable rather than simply accumulating as waste, and the EPA encourages recycling whenever possible.
The main difference is the potential toxic nature of lead, which is why the EPA puts standard processes in place, and facilities must work with approved recycling facilities equipped to safely handle lead garments.
How Can Healthcare Facilities Ensure Safe and Compliant Lead Garment Recycling?
Strategies healthcare facilities can use for proper lead garment management and hospital compliance include:
Setting clear standards and protocols: Facilities should have clear protocols and procedures for how lead PPE is handled, when it should be inspected, inventory tracking, and managing any damaged garments.
Staff training: Each staff member using and managing lead PPE should be trained on the best practices and procedures set within the facility, including handling and storing PPE, documentation, and safe management if garments become damaged.
Continuous documentation: Any time lead garments are acquired, inspected, cleaned, or removed from the inventory and sent for recycling, it should be clearly documented. Healthcare facilities must keep an organized documentation system to have the information ready in case of audits.
Choosing compliant providers: As mentioned earlier, when facilities choose to outsource lead garment recycling or disposal, it’s important to work with a reputable provider that uses EPA-certified processes. Partnering with RCS is a great choice to ensure each step is correctly managed and documented.
RCS’s Full-Service Approach: Simplifying Lead Garment Disposal
At RCS, we offer full-service lead garment disposal services and compliance solutions to make managing disposal or recycling more efficient for busy healthcare providers.
When you work with us, we act as a partner that supports and guides you at each stage of the disposal journey. Our EPA-certified services will help with:
Classifying garments as hazardous waste
Ensuring garments are sent to EPA-approved recycling or disposal centers
Documenting each step so you have the information available for audits
Everything is handled for you while providing you with the documentation needed to know the process is being managed correctly.
We Offer a Complete Solution at Each Stage of the Garment Life Cycle
In addition to garment disposal and recycling, we offer services that can help at each stage of the garment life cycle, ensuring your PPE remains safe and as effective as possible and extending each garment’s lifespan. Our services include:
Deep cleaning and disinfection: We offer a comprehensive deep cleaning and disinfection service to ensure any contaminants present on the garment are removed. Our service follows protocols established by governing bodies like the CDC, AORN, and the EPA to ensure effective results.
Inspections with X-ray scanning: We’ll provide thorough radiographic inspections for all PPE your facility uses to identify small damage early. Identifying damage ensures that all garments you have in use are as effective as possible to keep your staff safe.
Garment repairs: When defects are identified during inspection, we can provide repairs to return them to working condition. Applying repairs early can help prevent further damage and extend the lifespan of your PPE.
Inventory management with RADCOMPLY™: Our RADCOMPLY™ software is designed to track your inventory, services provided, and documentation needed for compliance after disposing of lead garments. It creates an organized system so you have the information you need readily available.
Ready to optimize how your facility manages lead PPE throughout its life cycle? Contact us today to learn more about how we can help at RCS.
