[The environmental monitoring of the exposure to chemical contamination in operating rooms]

G Ital Med Lav Ergon. 2007 Jul-Sep;29(3 Suppl):417-8.
[Article in Italian]

Abstract

The medical staff which works in an operating room is exposed to danger due to the chemical contamination found in the air. The results of this research depend to hormonal and haematochemical variations. The chemical contamination can be the cause of pathologies of the respiratory organs, the skin, the mucosa and the immune system. After a preventive evaluation of the production processes and the working procedures, some researchers have estimated the environmental risk caused by low concentrations of chemical products. In order to control the levels of the chemical agents, they have used an integrated system set up by a gaschromatography-mass spectrometer that has found some levels of chemical agents peculiar to a low pollution, characterized by the low concentration under the levels of the so-called ACGIH (2006) of hesane, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene and naphthalene. According to the latest studies is very important to develop working methods and scientific knowledges direct to environmental, medical and toxicological problems. They are necessary to guarantee a greater protection of the human health and the safety at work.

Publication types

  • English Abstract

MeSH terms

  • Air Pollutants*
  • Environmental Monitoring*
  • Humans
  • Occupational Exposure*
  • Operating Rooms*

Substances

  • Air Pollutants