Health Hazard Evaluation Report HHE 80-98-790: San Francisco General Hospital: San Francisco, California

Details

• Personal Author:
  Belanger, Pierre L. ; Coye, Molly J.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Worker exposures to dimethyl-sulfoxide (67685) (DMSO) were evaluated at San Francisco General Hospital (SIC-8060) in San Francisco, California on April 30, 1980. The evaluation was requested by an unspecified individual on behalf of approximately 36 affected employees. Processes used to administer DMSO to patients were observed and several nurses were interviewed about DMSO treatments. The first time the drug had been used, several staff members reported headaches, dizziness, and nausea. Ventilation in the area was inadequate when the drug was used and the wall suction unit did not function properly. During the second DMSO treatment, the patient was placed in a well ventilated room and the wall suction unit was operational. None of the staff reported any adverse effects following the second DMSO treatment. The authors conclude that the use of DMSO in the hospital now is adequately controlled. They recommend that current DMSO administration procedures be maintained, the mechanical ventilation and wall suction unit be checked periodically, detection of DMSO odors be promptly reported, workers be trained regarding the health hazards of DMSO, and people who intend to have children during their period of employment be allowed to work elsewhere in the hospital when DMSO is used. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dimethyl Sulfoxide Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Occupational Health Safety Solvents Surveys And Questionnaires Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Dimethyl Sulfoxide DMSO Hazards-Unconfirmed Health-surveys HHE-80-98-790 Hospital Workers Medical-facilities NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation Occupational-health Organic-solvents OSHA Region 9

  More +
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE8098790
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  California ; San Francisco (CA) ; OSHA Region 9
• 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:
  8 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Gollnast, Dorothy M.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00114015
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB82-183948
• 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, HHE 80-98-790, 1981 Jan ; :1-5
• CAS Registry Number:
  Dimethyl sulphoxide (CAS RN 67-68-5)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1981
• 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:f0243db8b2bd2c7f5d06ccaf7cd81da942baa5c65245f00754b3218f5dc995b39435460101a964ea8497375ffa63bc44c72e8529f6a79a0f6d16adb05aba74d4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173440/cdc_173440_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.23 MB ]