IS FOR HAZARDS AT HOSPITALS

Prepared by

CHEMICAL HAZARDS IN HOSPITALS

STERILANT GASES Ethylene oxide

ANESTHETIC GASES Enflurane Halotane Isoflurane Nitrous oxide

SOLVENTS AND

DISINFECTANTS Glutaraldehyde Formaldehyde

HAZARDOUS DRUGS Chemotherapy agents

and more

AIR SAMPLING OPTIONETHYLENE OXIDE

Passive samplers containing Anasorb 747 sorbent coated with hydrobromic acid can be used to assess TWA or STEL exposures.

This is the same sorbent specified

in OSHA Method 1010 using SKC sorbent tubes (Cat. No. 226-178). SKC Cat. No. 575-005

AIR SAMPLING OPTIONANESTHETIC GASES

Enflurane, halothane,and isoflurane can be sampled using sorbent tubes containing Anasorb 747 sorbent to assess short-term (15-minute) or long-term (2-hour) exposures by OSHA Method 103. SKC Cat. No. 226-81A

AIR SAMPLING OPTIONANESTHETIC GASES

SKC Cat. No. 575-002 passive samplers can also be used to screen for anesthetic gases.

These samplers have calculated sampling rates for the specific gases and are not experimentally validated.

SKC Cat. No. 575-002

AIR SAMPLING OPTIONNITROUS OXIDE

A passive sampler

containing specially

cleaned molecular sieve

sorbent has been fully

validated for sampling

reliability by SKC. Purchase this sampler

with or without analysis by

SKC. SKC Cat. No. 590-300

AIR SAMPLING OPTIONGLUTARALDEHYDE

Cassettes containing 2 glass fiber filters treated with 2,4-DNPH and phosphoric acid can be used at flow rates up to 2 L/min to assess short-term (5-15 minute) or long-term (4-hour) exposures by OSHA Method 64.

SKC Cat. No. 225-9003

AIR SAMPLING OPTIONFORMALDEHYDE

A passive sampler

containing a chemically

coated tape has been fully validated by OSHA

Method 1007. Suitable for 15-minute

STELs or 8-hour TWA

compliance samplingSKC Cat. No. 500-100

HAZARDOUS DRUGS

At this time, there are no NIOSH/OSHA air sampling methods for hazardous drugs.

Consult the MSDS and/or contact the drug manufacturer for assistance in evaluating airborne concentrations.

HAZARDOUS DRUGSNIOSH GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS

Antineoplastic Agents-Occupational

Hazards in Hospitals

www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2004-102/

Preventing Occupational Exposures to Hazardous Drugs

www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2004-165/

BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS IN HOSPITALS

INCLUDES KNOWN

STRAINS OF Bacteria Viruses Fungi Other microorganisms

ALSO INCLUDES NEW

PATHOGENS FOR SARs MRSA Bird Flu

AIR SAMPLING OPTIONVIABLE BACTERIA AND FUNGI

Viable cascade impactors including the SKC BioStage® can be used to collect and culture viable samples following NIOSH Methods 0800 and 0801.

Growth medium (agar) is supplied by the lab in standard culture plates for use with this sampler SKC Cat. No. 225-9611

AIR SAMPLING OPTIONVIABLE BACTERIA AND FUNGI

The SKC BioStage can be attached directly to the SKC QuickTake® 30 pump using the mounting bracket.

Flow rates of 28.3 L/min for sample times of 5 minutes or less are typically used.

SKC Cat. No. 228-9530K

AIR SAMPLING VIRUSES

ACGIH reports that air sampling for viruses is not routinely done for indoor air studies.

Viruses do not remain long in the environment and do not multiply alone on organic substrates.

Research and public health agencies may do air sampling to research transmission of airborne viral diseases.

This technique is used by NIOSH during SARs response.

AIR SAMPLING OPTIONSVIRUSES

The evaluation method chosen to collect viral samples depends on the virus itself, the environmental conditions, and the analysis techniques available.

SAMPLING FOR MRSA

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is normally found as a surface contaminant.

Sterile swabs are typically used for sampling and followed by a growth culture. SKC Cat. No. 225-2402

FOR MORE INFORMATION

SKC has an Industry Guide with more details on sampling equipment in the Health Care industry under our TRAINING hot button.

See http://www.skcinc.com/instructions/1755.pdf

U.S. OSHA provides valuable information for this industry in their ETools. See http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/ etools/hospital/index.html