Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-84-217-1884: Children's Hospital National Medical Center; Washington, D.C.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Crandall, Michael S.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from the Services Employees International Union, Local 722, an evaluation was made of exposures to ethylene- oxide (75218) (EtO) in the Sterile Processing and Distribution (SPD) department at Children's Hospital National Medical Center (SIC- 8069), Washington, D.C. An initial survey was conducted in March 1984, a follow up survey was conducted in December 1985, and a second followup was conducted in May 1986, following repairs to the aeration chamber control system. In May 1986, 17 air samples were collected at six locations. No EtO was detected prior to a demonstration run. During the demonstration a concentration of 0.66 parts per million (ppm) was found in the mechanical room. During the first exhaust phase, concentrations around the system ranged from 0.28 to 0.39ppm. During the second exhaust phase EtO concentrations were near 0.1ppm. While the EtO concentrations measured during this visit were significantly lower than those which had been measured during earlier visits, the potential for exposure on a daily basis was still unnecessarily high and unacceptable for workers in the SPD department. The author concludes that the potential exposure to EtO on a daily basis presents an unnecessary and unacceptable risk. The author recommends that this sterilization equipment no longer be used, and that sterilization equipment with engineering controls which could limit exposure to EtO be installed.
• Subjects:
  Ethylene Oxide Health Personnel Hospitals Inhalation Exposure Occupational Health Safety Solvents
• Keywords:
  Hazard-Confirmed Health-care-personnel HETA-84-217-1884 Hospital-equipment Inhalants NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 3 Specialty Hospitals, Except Psychiatric Sterilizer Vapors

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA842171884
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; OSHA Region 3
• 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:
  32 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Bryant, Charles J. ; Elliott, Larry J. ; Marlowe, David ; Williamson, George ; Jenkins, Sharon
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00181282
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB88-247937
• 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 84-217-1884, 1988 Apr ; :1-29
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ethylene oxide (CAS RN 75-21-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1988
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8069 - Specialty hospitals except psychiatric - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8d753bbaa1023132b362f632ab57589b8ed3a61f4a4bef2be943bfb0c0c8ca72c99167a614bcdb72eb463dfc6f0a194b1f464ce33bad97d021b14d086c580491
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171911/cdc_171911_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 4.54 MB ]