Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-88-101-2008: University of Utah Health Sciences Center; Salt Lake City, Utah

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bryant, Charles J. ; Moss, C. Eugene ; Stewart, John ; Whong, Wen-Zong
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the University of Utah Health Sciences Center (SIC-8062), Salt Lake City, Utah, a study was made of possible hazardous exposures to smoke generated by medical lasers during laser surgery and animal research procedures. Environmental sampling was conducted to determine occupational exposures to several airborne compounds and a health complaint questionnaire was administered to medical personnel. Detectable levels of ethanol (64175), isopropanol (67630), anthracene (120127), formaldehyde (50000), cyanide, and airborne mutagenic substances were recorded. Ethanol and isopropanol were detected at 4.7 parts per million (ppm) and 0.5 to 16.4ppm, respectively, below the OSHA and ACGIH evaluation criteria. Two short term samples of formaldehyde registered 0.21ppm and 0.44ppm, which could cause irritation in sensitive individuals. Airborne particle extracts were found to be mutagenic in the Ames test. Hydrogen-cyanide (74908) was detected at the laser irradiation site at a concentration of 100ppm. The authors conclude that exposure to constituents of smoke generated during laser surgery were a potential health hazard. The authors recommend the use of smoke evacuators to reduce exposures during laser procedures.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Dust Environmental Monitoring Health Personnel Hospitals Mutagens Occupational Health Particulate Matter Radiation Safety Smoke

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• Keywords:
  Air-quality-monitoring Airborne-dusts Cyanide Formaldehyde Fume General Medical And Surgical Hospitals Hazard-Confirmed Health-care-personnel HETA-88-101-2008 Laser-radiation Laser Smoke Laser Surgery Mutagenicity NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Operating Rooms OSHA Region 8 PNAs Polynuclear Aromatics Smoke-inhalation

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA881012008
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Utah ; OSHA Region 8
• 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:
  40 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Fleeger, Alan K. ; Gunter, Bobby J.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00194420
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB91-107789
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, Ohio: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 88-101-2008, 1990 Feb ; :1-49
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ethanol (CAS RN 64-17-5) ; Isopropyl alcohol (CAS RN 67-63-0) ; Anthracene (CAS RN 120-12-7) ; Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0) ; Hydrogen cyanide (CAS RN 74-90-8)
• Editor(s):
  Jenkins, Sharon ; Conway, Kathy
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1990
• 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-512:4c103361da3bb020d15637e467ddeee630836b0632696b29b8c3a8cabe4220af83e5c5a255913316b72b8503bd245c878e60c6b2c8b741fcd561ff6bb649e25c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171772/cdc_171772_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 770.56 KB ]