Health-hazard evaluation report HETA 89-007-1983, St. Thomas More Hospital, Canyon City, Colorado

Technical Report · Fri Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1989

OSTI ID:6852740

Daniels, W J

St. Thomas More Hospital, Canyon City, Colorado was evaluated for possible health hazards to workers due to exposure to waste anesthetic gases in the operating rooms of the hospital. Exposures to ethylene oxide used in gas sterilization, formaldehyde used in the morgue, and organic solvents used in the histology laboratory were investigated. The 81-bed hospital was housed in a two-story building with a basement. Five of the samples for nitrous oxide had a mean of 0.23 ppm and halothane had a mean of 0.15 ppm. Toluene and isopropyl alcohol were below their limits of detection. Formaldehyde was found at a time weighted average concentration of 4.8 ppm, which was above the permissible exposure level of 2.0 ppm as a 15-minute ceiling. The report concludes that at the time of the survey the potential did exist for overexposure to waste anesthetic gases and vapors and formaldehyde. Specific measures to be taken to control employee exposures are recommended.

• Research Organization: National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH (USA). Div. of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluation and Field Studies
• OSTI ID: 6852740
• Report Number(s): PB-90-179102/XAB; HETA--89-007-1983
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120 -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AIR POLLUTION
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
ALDEHYDES
ALKENES
ALKYLATED AROMATICS
AROMATICS
BUILDINGS
CHALCOGENIDES
CONTROL
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ETHYLENE
FORMALDEHYDE
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
HOSPITALS
HYDROCARBONS
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE EXPOSURE
MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENTS
MEDICAL PERSONNEL
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
NITROUS OXIDE
OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SOLVENTS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PERSONNEL
POLLUTION
POLLUTION CONTROL
SAFETY
SAFETY STANDARDS
SOLVENTS
STANDARDS
TOLUENE