Local Health Authority of Brindisi, Health Unit of Occupational Prevention and Protection, Brindisi, Italy.
University of Salento, Occupational Medicine, Lecce, Italy.
Work. 2021;69(1):209-213. doi: 10.3233/WOR-213470.
The safety and health of healthcare workers employed in pathology laboratories and exposed to formaldehyde (FA) is a matter of concern worldwide, as several health effects have been observed in workers resulting from exposure to FA, both short and long-term.
The study was aimed to describe the strategy implemented in a hospital pathology laboratory to minimize workers' exposure to FA through interventions to working environment and workforce.
The NIOSH 2016 method for detecting gaseous FA was adopted to perform personal and area active sampling of FA. The samples were subsequently analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography. The exposure to FA was measured before and after improvement interventions.
The pre-intervention step showed FA levels exceeding the threshold limit values (TLV) established by ACGIH, both the time-weighted average (TLV-TWA) and short term exposure limit (TLV-STEL); after the improvement interventions, the median concentrations of personal and area FA sampling were respectively of 0.025 ppm (Range = 0.023-0.027) and 0.023 ppm (Range = 0.022-0.028) and significantly lower than pre-intervention step (p < 0.05) and below the TLV-TWA and TLV-STEL established by ACGIH.
In our study the workers' involvement in the risk management of FA exposure together with engineering improvements revealed a strategic way to minimize the FA pollution in the studied laboratory. Healthcare companies should consider the need to ensure the workers' participation in the management of occupational hazards, including FA, to reach the goal of healthy workplaces.
在全球范围内，从事病理实验室工作且接触甲醛（FA）的医护人员的安全和健康是一个令人关注的问题，因为工人在短时间和长时间内接触 FA 会观察到几种健康影响。
本研究旨在描述一家医院病理实验室实施的策略，通过干预工作环境和劳动力来最大限度地减少工人接触 FA。
采用 NIOSH 2016 法检测气态 FA，对 FA 进行个人和区域主动采样。随后用高效液相色谱法对样品进行分析。在改进干预措施前后测量 FA 的暴露情况。
在干预前，FA 水平超过了 ACGIH 设定的阈值限值（TLV），包括时间加权平均值（TLV-TWA）和短期暴露限值（TLV-STEL）；在改进干预措施后，个人和区域 FA 采样的中位数浓度分别为 0.025ppm（范围为 0.023-0.027）和 0.023ppm（范围为 0.022-0.028），明显低于干预前（p<0.05），低于 ACGIH 设定的 TLV-TWA 和 TLV-STEL。
在我们的研究中，工人参与 FA 暴露风险管理以及工程改进揭示了一种在研究实验室中最大限度减少 FA 污染的策略。医疗保健公司应考虑确保工人参与职业危害管理的必要性，包括 FA，以实现健康工作场所的目标。
