Health Hazard Evaluation Determination Report HE 79-5-564: Children's Hospital Dental Department: Cincinnati, Ohio

Details

• Personal Author:
  Johnson, Paul L.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Breathing zone (BZ) and general area (GA) samples for nitrous oxide (10024972) (N2O) were collected to determine exposure concentrations to dental residents and assistants at the Children's Hospital (SIC- 8081) Dental Department in Cincinnati, Ohio on December 14 and 15, 1978. A dental resident requested the evaluation for approximately 25 people. Concentrations of N2O ranged from 40 to 3500 parts per million (ppm) during application, which occasionally exceeded the NIOSH recommended concentrations of 50ppm. Five of 36 measurements of N2O after application were below 50ppm. Highest concentrations occurred in the BZ during application with an N2O to oxygen ratio greater than 2:4 liters per minute. Operatories using cracked or loose N2O breathing hoses had concentrations exceeding 3000ppm. The investigator concludes that sources of N2O included the anesthesia machine, nasal mask, patient's mouth, and operatories from adjacent rooms. The investigator recommends that scavenging equipment be used
  
  venting suction mechanism outside the building be maintained properly
  
  conversation with the patient during N2O administration be minimized
  
  anesthesia equipment be inspected and tested monthly
  
  an air monitoring program be designed and implemented
  
  and where acceptable concentrations of N2O are not achieved, use of an air sweep to remove N2O be considered. [Description provided by NIOSH]
  
  
• Subjects:
  Anesthesia Environmental Monitoring Ergonomics Irritants Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory System Safety
• Keywords:
  Air-monitoring Anesthetics Dental Clinic Environmental-engineering Hazard-Unconfirmed HHE-79-5-564 Irritant-gases NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation Nitrous Oxide Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 5 Respiratory-equipment Scavenging Techniques Waste Anesthetic Gases

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE795564
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; Cincinnati (OH) ; OSHA Region 5
• 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:
  11 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Flesch, Jerome P. ; Burroughs, G. Edward ; Kerdolff, Sandra L.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00101041
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB81-143059
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HHE 79-5-564, 1979 Feb ; :1-11
• CAS Registry Number:
  Nitrous oxide (CAS RN 10024-97-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1979
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  8081 - Outpatient Care Facilities - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4b45a10348c37abd157dc56c6bdec9e02454b9221654436417559bdaced65c65c00363c5416ebfcec4f484e4c1d562713e670d00fe945d1ab7f4ea6c13bff773
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173558/cdc_173558_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.08 MB ]