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NIOSH Safety and Health Topic:

Hazardous Drug Exposures in Health Care

Health care workers who prepare or administer hazardous drugs (e.g., those used for cancer therapy, and some antiviral drugs, hormone agents, and bioengineered drugs) or who work in areas where these drugs are used may be exposed to these agents in the workplace. About 5.5 million U.S. health care workers are potentially exposed to hazardous drugs, including pharmacy and nursing personnel, physicians, environmental services workers, workers in research laboratories, veterinary care workers, and shipping and receiving personnel.

It seems counter-intuitive that the health care industry, whose mission is the care of the sick, is itself a "high-hazard" industry for the workers it employs. In fact, published studies have shown that workplace exposures to hazardous drugs can cause both acute and chronic health effects such as skin rashes, adverse reproductive outcomes (including infertility, spontaneous abortions, and congenital malformations), and possibly leukemia and other cancers. The health risk depends on how much exposure a worker has to these drugs and how toxic they are. Workers can be protected from exposures to hazardous drugs through engineering and administrative controls, and proper protective equipment.

NIOSH is currently updating the list of hazardous drugs for the alert. A proposed list will be published in the Federal Register in 2008. The information for the Federal Register Notice will be posted on this page when it comes available.

If you have any questions regarding hazardous drugs please submit them to hazardousdrugs@cdc.gov.

Publications

Personal Protective Equipment for Health Care Workers Who Work with Hazardous Drugs
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2009-106 (2008)
Health care workers who handle hazardous drugs are at risk of skin rashes, cancer, and reproductive disorders. NIOSH recommends that employers provide appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect workers who handle hazardous drugs in the workplace.

Workplace Solutions: Medical Surveillance for Health Care Workers Exposed to Hazardous Drugs
En Español
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2007-117 (2007)
Health care workers who handle, prepare, or administer hazardous drugs may face risks to their own health such as skin rashes, cancer, and reproductive disorders.

Workplace Solutions: Preventing Worker Deaths and Injuries When Handling Micotil 300®
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2007-124 (2007)
Livestock producers, veterinarians, and other workers may be exposed to the toxic hazards of the animal antibiotic Micotil 300® through needlestick injuries, skin cuts, puncture wounds, and contact with skin and mucous membranes.

NIOSH Alert: Preventing Occupational Exposures to Antineoplastic and other Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2004-165 (2004)
Provides health care workers and employers with measures for minimizing exposure to hazardous drugs.


Page last updated: November 4, 2008
Page last reviewed: September 22, 2008
Content Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Division of Applied Research and Technology


Hazardous Drug Exposures in Health Care
Muti-channel infusion pump for delivery of chemotherapy


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