Exposure to volatile organic compounds in healthcare settings
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Exposure to volatile organic compounds in healthcare settings

Filetype[PDF-537.16 KB]


  • English
    • Details Supporting Files You May Also Like

    Details:

    • Alternative Title:
      Occup Environ Med
    • Publisher's site:
      http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2014-102080
    • Personal Author:
    • Description:
      Objectives

      To identify and summarise volatile organic compound (VOC) exposure profiles of healthcare occupations.

      Methods

      Personal (n=143) and mobile area (n=207) evacuated canisters were collected and analysed by a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer to assess exposures to 14 VOCs among 14 healthcare occupations in five hospitals. Participants were volunteers identified by their supervisors. Summary statistics were calculated by occupation. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reduce the 14 analyte inputs to five orthogonal factors and identify occupations that were associated with these factors. Linear regressions were used to assess the association between personal and mobile area samples.

      Results

      Exposure profiles differed among occupations; ethanol had the highest geometric mean (GM) among nursing assistants (~4900 and ~1900 μg/m3, personal and area), and 2-propanol had the highest GM among medical equipment preparers (~4600 and ~2000 μg/m3, personal and area). The highest total personal VOC exposures were among nursing assistants (~9200 μg/m3), licensed practical nurses (~8700 μg/m3) and medical equipment preparers (~7900 μg/m3). The influence of the PCA factors developed from personal exposure estimates varied by occupation, which enabled a comparative assessment of occupations. For example, factor 1, indicative of solvent use, was positively correlated with clinical laboratory and floor stripping/waxing occupations and tasks. Overall, a significant correlation was observed (r=0.88) between matched personal and mobile area samples, but varied considerably by analyte (r=0.23–0.64).

      Conclusions

      Healthcare workers are exposed to a variety of chemicals that vary with the activities and products used during activities. These VOC profiles are useful for estimating exposures for occupational hazard ranking for industrial hygienists as well as epidemiological studies.

    • Subject:
    • Source:
      Occup Environ Med. 71(9):642-650.
    • Pubmed ID:
      25011549
    • Pubmed Central ID:
      PMC4591534
    • Document Type:
      Journal Article
    • Funding:
      KLB9/Intramural CDC HHS/United States
    • Place as Subject:
      United States
    • Collection(s):
      CDC Public Access
    • Main Document Checksum:
    • File Type:

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