Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-83-076-1414: Saint Josephs Hospital; Denver, Colorado

Details

• Personal Author:
  Pryor, Paul D.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Worker exposures to xylene (1330207) and formaldehyde (50000) were investigated in March 1983 at Saint Joseph’s Hospital (SIC-8062), Denver, Colorado. The evaluation was requested by a hospital representative on behalf of 10 workers from the Histology, Cytology, Surgical Pathology, and Reagent Preparation Departments. Personal and area air samples were collected, and employees completed medical questionnaires. Concentrations of xylene ranged from 0.01 to 0.21 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3), compared to the OSHA standard of 435mg/m3. Formaldehyde concentrations ranged from undetected to 1.90mg/m3, compared with the OSHA limit of 4.5mg/m3. The highest measurements were recorded in the Reagent Preparation and Surgical Pathology areas during the tissue disposal process. Formaldehyde exposures in the Surgical Pathology Department occurred mainly during the disposal of used formaldehyde
  
  exposures in the Reagent Preparation area and during tissue disposal were mainly due to improper work practices. Workers reported irritative symptoms suggestive of formaldehyde exposure. The author concludes that a hazard due to formaldehyde exposure exists in the Reagent Preparation and Surgical Pathology Departments, and during tissue disposal operations. He recommends worker education, improved ventilation, environmental monitoring, improved work practices, and use of protective clothing.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Aldehydes Ear Formaldehyde Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Hospitals Laboratories Occupational Health Safety Sense Organs Skin

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• Keywords:
  Air-contamination Cytology Eye Formaldehyde General Medical And Surgical Hospitals Hazards-Confirmed Health-care-personnel Health-services HETA-83-076-1414 Histology Laboratory-workers NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report Noise OSHA Region 8 Reagent Preparation Surgical Pathology Throat And Skin Irritation Tissue Disposal Xylene

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA830761414
• 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:
  16 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Apol, Arvin
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00149696
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB85-179364
• 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 83-076-1414, 1984 Jan ; :1-14
• CAS Registry Number:
  Xylene (CAS RN 1330-20-7) ; Formaldehyde (CAS RN 50-00-0)
• Editor(s):
  Emerson, Loraine
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1984
• 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:e4e8b77c34ed75f2cfc5d78b48a3586cc02d85d7f14bc0e5d4005cd8f0e11165420ffb03dd203ec56afe2c5bc263f285dea47ab548e426c381a262a20ea5e7de
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172661/cdc_172661_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.75 MB ]