Why Should Laboratory Chemicals Be Monitored?
Medical facilities must ensure compliance with the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) Laboratory Standard that applies to hazardous chemicals to which employees may be exposed. When it comes to these dangerous laboratory chemicals, monitoring is the only way to discover and decrease their levels.
Not only must you comply with OSHA requirements to avoid troublesome and expensive OSHA visits, fines, liability and lawsuits, but you also want your employees to know that you’re looking out for their health. After all, you are in the business of improving health, and that means for your employees as well as your patients.
What Health Issues Do Laboratory Chemicals Pose?
Chemicals found most often in hospital labs include formaldehyde, xylene and toluene. Exposure to these chemicals can cause eye and respiratory irritation, severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, and even loss of consciousness. Chronic conditions can also occur due to the inhalation of high concentrations for long periods of time; these include laryngitis, bronchitis, bronchial pneumonia and conjunctivitis. Formaldehyde is a suspected carcinogen; nasal tumors have been reported in animals. *
Breathing in noticeable, objectionable odors and vapors from formaldehyde (more commonly used as buffered formalin), xylene and toluene causes employees to worry about their health. OSHA has set standards regarding the maximum levels of airborne concentrations of these chemicals above which employees may not be exposed. Let us help you make your employees feel safe and be safe.
How Evergreen Medical Performs On-Site Testing
Our on-site medical laboratory chemicals monitoring involves real-time instruments, workplace evaluations and ventilation measurements that provide you with a wealth of actionable information, including the following:
- The airborne levels of each chemical
- Reason(s) for the high levels
- Methods to reduce the amount of chemicals that employees breathe
- Methods to bring levels into compliance with OSHA requirements
- Numerous ways to improve ventilation
When you work with Evergreen Medical throughout the chemical monitoring process, we help you achieve full compliance with relevant codes while reassuring your employees that they are safe from the harmful effects of hazardous airborne chemicals while at work.
Click here to see all of the chemical monitoring services we can provide for your facility.
* SOURCE: https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/hospital/lab/lab.html#FormaldehydeExposure