Industrial hygiene characterization of ethylene oxide exposures of hospital and nursing home workers.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Elliott, Larry J. ; Molina D ; Morelli-Schroth P ; Ringenburg VL
• Description:
  Industrial hygiene surveys were conducted at 12 hospitals and one nursing home to determine possible employee exposure to ethylene- oxide (75218) (EtO). Different types of exposure situations existed at each of the facilities as a result of various engineering controls, administrative controls and work practices. Sampling indicated that the time weighted averages (TWAs) of exposure over periods of 36 to 724 minutes ranged from below the limit of detection to 6.7 parts per million (ppm). Personal short term exposure levels covering 2 to 30 minutes ranged from less than the limit of detection to 103.2ppm. Factors which were found to be responsible for these higher than permissible levels of EtO exposure included improper installation or lack of engineering controls (such as improper placement of the sterilizing operations), unbalanced ventilation systems, and lack of administrative controls resulting in inappropriate work practices. Inappropriate practices included overcrowding of the sterilizer room workspace, not waiting for 15 minutes after cracking open the sterilizer door before unloading the sterilizer, spending too much time transferring EtO sterilized loads to the aerators, holding the sterilizer liner bag and EtO sterilized items in the breathing zone, and wearing of improper personal protective equipment. Recommendations were made which addressed each of these areas of deficiency. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Content Notes:
  in NTRL, no pdf
• Subjects:
  Disinfectants Environmental Monitoring Health Personnel Hospitals Laboratories Occupational Health Preceptorship Safety Solvents
• Keywords:
  NIOSH-Author; NIOSH-Survey; Field-Study; Health-care-personnel; Hospital-equipment; Laboratory-workers; Vapors; Disinfectants; Air-quality-monitoring
• Series:
  Industry Wide Field Studies
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; 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:
  1-95
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00173111
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB88128939
• 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, IWS 152-22, 1986 Dec; :1-95
• CAS Registry Number:
  Ethylene oxide (CAS RN 75-21-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1987
• 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-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/233342/cdc_233342_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]