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OSHA classifies nitrous oxide as a simple asphyxiant and provides standard regulations for construction and maritime industries to ensure worker safety. Nitrous oxide is a colorless gas with a slightly sweet odor used primarily for anesthetic purposes in medical, dental, and veterinary operations. Breathing nitrous oxide can cause dizziness, unconsciousness, or death while contact with liquid nitrous oxide can cause severe frostbite with potential loss of limbs. The level of worker exposure depends on dose, duration of exposure, and type of activity during exposure. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has set a recommended exposure limit of 25 ppm to escaped anesthetic.
The anesthetic gases and vapors that leak into the surrounding room during medical procedures are considered waste anesthetic gases. It is estimated that more than 250,000 health care professionals who work in hospitals, operating rooms, dental offices and veterinary clinics, are potentially exposed to waste anesthetic gases and are at risk of occupational illness. The waste anesthetic gases and vapors of concern are nitrous oxide (N2O) and halogenated agents (vapors) such as halothane, enflurane, isoflurane, and desflurane. Some potential effects of exposure to waste anesthetic gases are nausea, dizziness, headaches, fatigue, and irritability, as well as sterility, miscarriages, birth defects, cancer, and liver and kidney disease, among operating room staff or their spouses (in the case of miscarriages and birth defects). Employers and employees should be aware of the potential effects and be advised to take appropriate precautions.
Employers can reduce exposures to waste anesthetic gases by taking the following steps, as recommended by NIOSH: