Request for Assistance in Controlling Exposures to Nitrous Oxide During Anesthetic Administration

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dames, Barbara L. ; McGlothlin, James D.
• Description:
  Control measures for preventing or significantly reducing exposure to nitrous-oxide (10024972) (N2O) while administering anesthetic gases were discussed. Health effects of exposure to N2O were reviewed. A large population of dentists, dental assistants, and dental hygienists practicing in the United States may be potentially exposed to N2O during the course of their employment. About 35% of all dentists have been reported to use N2O in their patients. Pediatric dentists using N2O increased from 65% in 1980 to 88% in 1988. The recommended exposure limit set by NIOSH for N2O was 25 parts per million (ppm) during anesthetic administration. Recommendations for safety included: monitoring airborne concentrations of N2O; implementing appropriate engineering controls; establishing good work practices and maintenance procedures; educating workers as to the standard operating procedures for all tasks that may allow exposure to N2O to occur; educating workers about proper practices, controls, equipment and protective equipment that should be used; and using guidelines to minimize exposure to N2O. Engineering controls included anesthetic delivery systems, scavenging systems, and room ventilation equipment which will enable the workers to perform their tasks without hazardous N2O exposures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Anesthesia Dental Offices Environmental Monitoring Hazardous Substances Health Personnel Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety
• Keywords:
  Air-quality-monitoring Anesthesiology Anesthetics Dentistry Health-care-personnel NIOSH-Author Occupational-exposure Personal-protective-equipment Respiratory-protection Toxic-gases Veterinary-medicine

  More +
• Series:
  NIOSH Numbered Publications
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHPUB94100
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DPSE - Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering ; DSDTT - Division of Standards Development and Technology Transfer
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00220130
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB94-194149
• Citation:
  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, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 94-100, 1994 Apr; :1-11
• CAS Registry Number:
  Nitrous oxide (CAS RN 10024-97-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1994
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0734016bb9506a2ed8f9f3ea2842889d8effc0b5ddc4f5e17f54308404f9a89de29d8476d65a17c8625898f1ea58e7ae41a4c8c5814e09ed0caba5a7cd8c24ed
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/209651/cdc_209651_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.18 MB ]