Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-88-258-1941: University Hospital; Denver, Colorado

Details

• Personal Author:
  Daniels, William J. ; Gunter, Bobby J.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the University Hospital (SIC-8062), Denver, Colorado, an evaluation was made of possible hazardous working conditions at this site. Particular attention was given to waste anesthetic gases and vapors in the surgical operating rooms and in the recovery room. In 19 personal samples the time weighted average concentrations of nitrous oxide (10024972) (N2O) ranged from less than the limit of detection to 77 parts per million (ppm) with a mean concentration of 17ppm. The NIOSH recommended limit of 25ppm was exceeded in five of 19 samples. Personal breathing samples were collected and sampled for halothane (151677), ethrane (13838169), and isoflurane (26675467). Halothane was detected in seven of 24 samples ranging from 0.09 to 1.6ppm. The NIOSH recommended limit for halothane of 0.5ppm was exceeded in three samples. Ethrane was detected in five samples at 0.06 to 1.5ppm concentration levels, with two exceeding the NIOSH limit of 0.5ppm. Isoflurane was detected in six samples, ranging from 0.06 to 0.99ppm, with three samples exceeding the NIOSH limit of 0.5ppm. The authors conclude that a hazard existed from exposure to anesthetic gases and vapors during some of the procedures. Detailed recommendations regarding specific control procedures, work practices, and monitoring procedures were made.
• Subjects:
  Anesthesia Enflurane Health Personnel Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Anesthetics Ethrane General Medical & Surgical Hospitals Halothane Hazard-Confirmed Health-care-personnel HETA-88-258-1941 Isoflurane NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Nitrous Oxide Nurses OSHA Region 8 Physicians Scavenging Waste Anesthetics

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA882581941
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; 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:
  12 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Lee, Steven
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00186189
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB89-188064
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 88-258-1941, 1988 Dec ; :1-13
• CAS Registry Number:
  Nitrous oxide (CAS RN 10024-97-2) ; Halothane (CAS RN 151-67-7) ; Ethrane (CAS RN 13838-16-9) ; Isoflurane (CAS RN 26675-46-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1989
• 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-512:8857f38be8abf5cfb3e06fe69eaf676a740f2ca5cab62f921d691c1003abcfe45e4ccb764c0e1a7f774116b3927684511592b04f709cb7a45e7e44ea325df8e4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171854/cdc_171854_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 150.77 KB ]