Some Health Care Professionals in Puerto Rico at Risk of Exposure to Waste Anesthetic Gases

Waste anesthetic gases (WAGs) are small amounts of volatile anesthetic gases that leak from a patient’s anesthetic breathing circuit into the air of operating rooms during the delivery of anesthesia. These gases may also be exhaled by patients recovering from anesthesia.
 
Waste anesthetic gases include both nitrous oxide and halogenated anesthetics. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) once estimated that more than 200,000 health care professionals - including anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, surgical and obstetric nurses, operating room technicians, nurses’ aides, surgeons, anesthesia technicians, post-anesthesia care nurses, dentists, dental assistants, dental hygienists, veterinarians and their assistants, emergency room staff, and radiology department personnel - were potentially exposed to WAGs and were at risk of occupational illnesses.
 
“OSHA reports that some of the potential effects of exposure to waste anesthetic gases include nausea, dizziness, headaches, fatigue and irritability, as well as sterility, miscarriages, birth defects, cancer, and liver and kidney disease, among operating room staff or even their spouses in the case of miscarriages and birth defects,” said Harry Pena, President of Zimmetry Environmental. “The agency goes on to state that employers and employees should be aware of the potential effects and be advised to take appropriate precautions.”
 
Fortunately, there are a number of ways to control exposure to WAGs. These include, but are not limited to:

• Engineering Controls
• Work Practices
• Hazard Communication and Training
• Air Monitoring

Working to protect health care providers in Puerto Rico and across the Caribbean from exposure to WAGs are the industrial hygiene and indoor environmental quality professionals at Zimmetry Environmental. Their experts identify exposure risks and offer air monitoring for WAGs utilizing sampling badges in health care facilities for at risk personnel. Zimmetry also recently sponsored an educational video about WAGs and occupational exposure risks that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/lZ5eLx7Egi8
 
To learn more about Zimmetry Environmental and their indoor air quality, occupational, compliance and consulting services, please visit www.zimmetry.com, call (787) 995.0005 or email info@zimmetry.com .
 
About Zimmetry Environmental
Since 2002, Zimmetry Environmental has been providing environmental consulting services to building owners and managers, architects, engineers, EHS professionals and Fortune 500 companies. The company is based in Puerto Rico and provides services across the Caribbean and Central America. The professionals at Zimmetry offer environmental compliance, indoor air quality, asbestos, lead-based paint, Phase I ESAs and general environmental consulting services.

Contact Information

Paul Cochrane

President

Cochrane & Associates, LLC

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