Employers can protect workers from exposure to anesthetic gases by:
- Inspecting equipment regularly for damage, breaks, or irregularities.
- Maintaining and turning on local ventilation systems.
- Ensuring equipment is properly connected.
- Checking the patients’ breathing circuit for negative pressure and positive pressure relief as part of the daily machine checklist.
- Filling vaporizers under an active hood before or after the anesthetic procedure.
- Using the lowest gas flow rates possible for the proper functioning of the anesthesia delivery system and for patient safety.
- Verifying proper mask fit for patients.
- Eliminating residual gases through the scavenging system as much as possible before disconnecting a patient from a breathing system.
- Turning anesthetic gas off before disconnecting and turning off the breathing system.