Health Hazard Evaluation Determination Report #78-42-498: Swedish Hospital: Seattle, Washington

Details

• Personal Author:
  Apol, Arvin G.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Employee exposure to ethylene-oxide (75218) (ETO) and dichlorodifluoromethane (75718) (Freon-12) were evaluated on March 6 and 7, 1978 in the anesthesia equipment room of Swedish Hospital (SIC-801) in Seattle, Washington. An evaluation request came from the hospital administration on behalf of approximately 24 affected workers. Two 15 minute breathing zone samples of ETO were 28 and 57 parts per million (ppm), respectively. Two general area samples were 41 and 37ppm respectively. The time weighted average exposure was approximately 10 to 15ppm. These were below the evaluation criteria of 75ppm for 15 minute periods. Freon-12 gas concentrations calculated on a ratio basis were well below the criteria of 1,000ppm. The authors conclude that there is no hazard from exposure to ETO or Freon-12. They recommend increasing ventilation, closing the cabinet door and opening the sterilizer door, and restricting entrance to the ETO area, medical surveillance preplacement examinations, counseling, and periodic medical examinations. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Butanones Environmental Monitoring Ethylene Oxide Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety Ventilation Workplace
• Keywords:
  Air-sampling Anesthesia Equipment Room EtO Hazard-Unconfirmed HHE-78-42-498 Humans Ketones Medical-care-facilities NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation Occupational-exposure OSHA Region 10 Sterilant Gas Work-environment

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE7842498
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Washington ; Seattle (WA) ; OSHA Region 10
• 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:
  10 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Flesch, Jerome P.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00099470
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB81-149700
• 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 78-42-498, HHE 78-42-498, 1978 May ; :1-10
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ethylene oxide (CAS RN 75-21-8) ; Dichlorodifluoromethane (CAS RN 75-71-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1978
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  801 - Offices & Clinics of Medical Doctors - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e4b9aa4f0147d7a70147522fc4db807664e0d65485b54f74df2f10b99eb623b8859200e7c28d4d62858ca878e5bef0102a5f9f231cca1ec6451c06af927c1dcf
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/173627/cdc_173627_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 621.96 KB ]