Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-92-273-2312: St. Vincent Hospital; Indianapolis, Indiana

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cook, Calvin K. ; Zimmer, Anthony T.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from St. Vincent Hospital (SIC-8062), Indianapolis, Indiana, an evaluation was begun of possible exposures to ethylene-oxide (75218) (EtO) in the central processing department (CPD). The CPD contained a sterilizer room, a mechanical access room, a storage room, and a cart room. It was equipped with two EtO automatic, general purpose sterilizer units. The units and aerators were served by a dedicated local exhaust ventilation system which released EtO directly to the outdoors. The CPD was equipped with an Interscan EtO monitoring system, with four voltametric sensors used for continuous monitoring of EtO concentrations in the vicinity of the sterilizer units and mechanical access room. Monitoring results indicated that a potential health hazard existed in the sterilizer room and the mechanical room of the CPD. EtO gas generated in these rooms was measured at concentrations ranging from 0.14 to 3 parts per million (ppm). This indicated that the exhaust ventilation provided in these areas is not effective in controlling EtO at emission sources. Personal breathing zone measurements indicated that CPD workers were exposed to low concentrations of EtO. The authors conclude that workers are at risk of overexposure if they occupy areas adjacent to the sterilization process frequently and/or for prolonged periods of time.
• Subjects:
  Ethylene Oxide Hazardous Substances Hospitals Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Central Processing Ethylene Oxide EtO Exhaust-ventilation Gas Sterilization General Medical Hospital Hazard-Confirmed HETA-92-273-2312 Hospital-equipment NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 5 Toxic-gases Ventilation-systems

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA922732312
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Indiana ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  14 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00216270
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB94-118338
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, Ohio: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 92-273-2312, 1993 May ; :1-15
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ethylene oxide (CAS RN 75-21-8)
• Editor(s):
  Humphries, Donna M.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1993
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8062 - General medical & surgical hospitals - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:af27cbe0dffb1ab583bf1a779ade8aae219f23d12b23da78661bee60020721f84a4fdacb7d0ec8669fb8bc1b559626e0f4dda443e80d6dd67bc247fcb856185f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171466/cdc_171466_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 676.64 KB ]