HETA #2003-0205-3032, Interfaith Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York

Details

• Personal Author:
  Achutan, Chandran ; Mortimer, Vincent D. ; Achutan, Chandran ; Mortimer, Vincent D.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  On March 24, 2003, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) received a request from the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) to conduct a health hazard evaluation (HHE) at Interfaith Medical Center (IMC) in Brooklyn, New York. The survey was conducted July 30 -August 1, 2003. Air monitoring was conducted in the endoscopy unit for glutaraldehyde and indoor environmental quality (IEQ), and ventilation measurements were taken in the operating room, intensive care unit (ICU), and emergency department at the main facility. IEQ measurements were also taken at the methadone clinic, which is at a separate location. Confidential interviews were conducted with twelve employees in the ICU at the main IMC facility, and an informal interview was conducted with three employees at the methadone clinic. OSHA logs were reviewed as well. Glutaraldehyde levels in air were well below applicable occupational exposure limits. However, approximately half the rooms at the main IMC facility lacked adequate ventilation and there was no mechanical ventilation system in place at the methadone clinic. Some employees were concerned about inadequate ventilation in their workplace. Another mentioned that there was a delay in learning whether a patient had a communicable disease. Employees also expressed satisfaction with management's timely response to their complaints. OSHA logs showed that there were 80 cases of workplace violence over a 2-year period. The NIOSH evaluation identified areas in the main IMC facility with inadequate ventilation. Ventilation at the methadone clinic was nonexistent, leading to complaints of heat exhaustion among employees. NIOSH investigators recommend consultation with ventilation engineers who are familiar with hospital facilities to improve ventilation. NIOSH investigators recommend addressing workplace violence, improving communication between management at the main IMC facility and management at the methadone clinic, as well as between employees and management at the methadone clinic.
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution, Indoor Engineering Environmental Health Hazardous Substances Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Heat Stress Disorders Hot Temperature Narcotics Neoplasms Occupational Health Safety Ventilation Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Cancer Engineering-controls Environmental-factors General Medical And Surgical Hospitals Glutaraldehyde Hazards-Confirmed Health-hazards Heat-stress Heat Strain IEQ Indoor-air-pollution Indoor-environmental-quality Indoor Environmental Quality Injury-prevention Medical-facilities Methadone Clinic OSHA Region 2 Ventilation-systems Workplace-studies Workplace Violence

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• Source:
  Cincinnati, OH: 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 2003-0205-3032, 2007 Mar ; :1-14 ; Cincinnati, OH: 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 2003-0205-3032, 2007 Mar ; :1-14
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)   ; Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)  
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA) ; Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA200302053032
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  20 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Galloway, Ellen ; Smith, Sollberger ; Smith, Robin
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20031724
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2007-104911
• CAS Registry Number:
  Glutaraldehyde (CAS RN 111-30-8) ; Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9) ; Glutaraldehyde (CAS RN 111-30-8) ; Carbon dioxide (CAS RN 124-38-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  622110 - General Medical and Surgical Hospitals - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ddada712ce700eaff27d178b5d2c384e517eb131768ca9b9d6c670fb52eb771b6aeb21dae5c0333cb114a56864703a3a9f0f32be24246e0dcdb812c26ff3cdbc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172598/cdc_172598_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 426.44 KB ]