Heavy Medicine: The Need for Ethical Stewardship of Metal and Metalloid-based Medicines and Technologies.

Abstract

Metals and metalloids including cobalt, gadolinium, lutetium and germanium are used in numerous medical applications spanning diverse specialities including orthopedics, radiology, oncology and healthcare artificial intelligence. These medical advances include cobalt containing orthopedic implants, gadolinium-based contrast agents, lutetium-containing cancer drugs and germanium-based semiconductors. While these metal and metalloid-based solutions do improve patient care, there is a heavy side to how the elements needed for these solutions are mined, extracted and discarded. These practices often exploit and harm vulnerable populations and environments. As healthcare professionals, we should be aware of the entire mineral to medicine lifecycle. As providers and consumers of these metal and metalloid-based solutions, we must advocate for more responsible and ethical extraction and recycling practices. As researchers and educators, we must promote and support continued research and development into less resource intense medical solutions that can both improve patient care and sustainability.