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NIOSH Alert: Preventing Occupational Exposures to Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Health Care Settings [summary]
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2004/09/01
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Series: NIOSH Numbered Publications
[PDF-2.06 MB]
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Alternative Title:Preventing Occupational Exposures to Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Health Care Settings [summary]
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Description:From Summary introduction: Warning! Working with or near hazardoius drugs in health care settings may cause skin rashes, infertility, miscarriage, birth defects, and possibly leukemia or other cancers. Health care workers who work with or near hazardous drugs may be exposed to these agents in the air or on work surfaces, clothing, medical equipment, or patient urine or feces. Hazardous drugs include those used for cancer chemotherapy, antiviral drugs, hormones, some bioengineered drugs, and other miscellaneous drugs (see Appendix A of NIOSH Alert: Preventing Occupational Exposures to Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Health Care Settings for a list of hazardous drugs). The health risk depends on how much exposure a worker has to these drugs and how toxic they are.
Supplied by NIOSH, from report Conclusions: "Recent evidence in the Alert summarized on this poster documents that worker exposure to hazardous drugs is a persistent problem. Although most air-sampling studies have not demonstrated significant airborne concentrations of these drugs, the sampling methods used in the past have come into question [Larson et al. 2003] and may not be a good indicator of contamination in the workplace. In all studies involving examination of surface wipe samples, researchers have determined that surface contamination of the workplace is common and widespread. Also, a number of recent studies have documented the excretion of several indicator drugs in the urine of health care workers. Results from studies indicate that worker exposure to hazardous drugs in health care facilities may result in adverse health effects. Appropriately designed studies have begun and are continuing to characterize the extent and nature of health hazards associated with these ongoing exposures. NIOSH is currently conducting studies to further identify potential sources of exposure and methods to reduce or eliminate worker exposure to these drugs. To minimize these potentially acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) effects of exposure to hazardous drugs at work, NIOSH recommends that at a minimum, employers and health care workers follow the recommendations presented in this Alert."
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Pages in Document:3 pdf pages
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NIOSHTIC Number:20026169
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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. 2004-165a, 2004 Sep; :1-3
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Federal Fiscal Year:2004
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Peer Reviewed:False
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Resource Number:DHHS (NIOSH) Publication Number 2004-165a
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