CDC Seeks Input on Study of Waste Anesthetic Gas Exposures
On June 12, a Federal Register notice announced a request for public comment on a proposed CDC study of the health effects of occupational exposures to waste anesthetic gases (WAGs) among workers in human and veterinary hospitals. “While human and veterinary medical environments differ, occupational exposure to WAGs is detrimental in both sectors,” the notice states. It explains that when anesthesia is administered to patients in operating rooms and intensive care units, anesthetic gases and vapors may leak into surrounding areas, causing workers to inhale nitrous oxide and halogenated agents such as isoflurane, desflurane, and sevoflurane. These exposures may also occur in postanesthetic care units.
Acute exposure to WAGs may result in nausea, dizziness, headache, fatigue, irritability, drowsiness, and difficulties with judgment and coordination. The effects of chronic exposure may include damage to DNA, genotoxicity, increased oxidative stress, cancer, and liver and kidney disease. Conflicting evidence exists on whether chronic occupational WAG exposure is linked to adverse reproductive outcomes.
CDC’s proposed study would assess occupational exposures, examine acute health effects, and recommend control measures for WAGs. It would involve a maximum of 280 healthcare workers to participate in an exposure assessment and complete a post-shift questionnaire.
“To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the relationship between WAG exposure and acute symptoms in [healthcare and veterinary workers],” the Federal Register states. The notice adds that it would also be one of the few studies to assess halogenated agents, which are the only anesthetics used in most veterinary hospitals, without co-exposure to nitrous oxide.
All comments must be submitted through the website of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs by July 12. More information about the study, as well as the process for submitting comments, is available in the Federal Register notice.
Related: The white paper “Recognition, Evaluation, and Control of Waste Anesthetic Gases in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit” is available from the AIHA Marketplace.