Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-86-179-1699: Doctor Levin; Denver, Colorado

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gunter, Bobby J.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Employees of the Levin dental clinic (SIC-8021), Boulder, Colorado, requested an evaluation of nitrous-oxide (10024972) and mercury (7439976) exposures be made at the clinic. Nitrous-oxide levels measured directly with an infrared gas analyzer showed levels during administration ranging from 0 to greater than 1000 parts per million (ppm). The average level in the dentist's breathing zone during a dental procedure lasting for about 1 hour was 200ppm. Mercury exposure was not found in the dental office or operatories. Interviews with the dentist and two dental assistants did not reveal any medical conditions compatible with exposure to mercury or nitrous oxide. The author concludes that the dentist in this clinic was overexposed to nitrous oxide. Recommendations by the author include adjustments to the existing scavenging system and decreased use of nitrous oxide. It is also recommended that a check be made with the company who installed the scavenging system to determine if the vacuum rate could be increased to 45 liters/minute. All personnel should be made aware of the adverse health effects of overexposure to nitrous oxide.
• Subjects:
  Anesthesia Dental Offices Health Personnel Nitrogen Oxides Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Anesthetics Dental Operatories Dentistry Hazard-Confirmed Hazard-Unconfirmed HETA-86-179-1699 Medical-personnel Mercury NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Nitrogen-oxides Nitrous Oxide Office Of Dentist OSHA Region 8 Waste Anesthetic Gas

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA861791699
• 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:
  9 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Brewer, Marile
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00163537
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB87-105003
• 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 86-179-1699, 1986 May ; :1-10
• CAS Registry Number:
  Nitrous oxide (CAS RN 10024-97-2) ; Mercury (CAS RN 7439-97-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1986
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8021 - Offices and clinics of dentists - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0d101446130277878ced1f4909cf376bffc1a017c8d7afbfc6185e8ae8c3b892fae2629310bbed5c9555c9069cb59814b09897d3c0c634e85fbc34c724b2fee1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172200/cdc_172200_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 143.00 KB ]