It should be noted that long before OSHA, and long before direct-reading instruments were available, people were doing toxic gas detection to protect their employees; combustible gas detection to protect their employees and their facilities; and, of course, they also did this to obtain lower insurance rates. These days, though, you can count on government…
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 or simply “peroxide”) has long been the subject of regulatory agency interest. The current allowable 8-hour time weighted average of 1 ppm dates back to 1978, if not earlier. The signs and symptoms of acute exposure to hydrogen peroxide include irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs, ranging from mild bronchitis…
Sometimes, we are asked about the 0-50 ppm measuring range offered on our ethylene oxide (EtO) instruments. After all, a founding principle for direct-reading instruments, used in occupational health work, was that the range should be set up to cover one-tenth to 10 times the TLV-TWA, or as OSHA would later call it, the PEL…
Gas detection methods have been changing and evolving and awareness has heightened as well, along with the ever changing methods of sterilization. To answer your question regarding what “most” hospitals are using to monitor EtO, a fair response would be narrowed down to either electrochemical sensors or gas chromatographs (GCs). Interscan has sold close to…
On 30 April 2009, OSHA released a comprehensive document entitled “Small Business Guide for Ethylene Oxide.” This new publication is available as a spiffy pdf (14.2 MB) or as a more browsable web page. The agency considers it to be a “guidance document,” in that it is advisory in nature, is informational in content, and…
EPA and FIFRA While most matters regarding occupational exposure to toxic compounds—in the United States—fall under the purview of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), in some cases, other federal agencies are also involved. Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7 United States Code §§ 136-136y (2008), the EPA has re-registered…
The original reference for periodic leak testing comes from 29 CFR 1910.1047 App A, and is entitled “Substance safety data sheet for ethylene oxide (non-mandatory).” Section VII-2-i of the document states: Leak detection. Sterilizer door gaskets, cylinder and vacuum piping, hoses, filters, and valves must be checked for leaks under full pressure with a Fluorocarbon…
Monitoring badges are integrating rather than real-time devices, yielding an accumulated value—often incorrectly interpreted as an “average”—calculated over the time period the badge was active. The advantage of real time monitoring is that it WILL keep track of spikes and excursions, while a badge will merely accumulate this information into the total. Since OSHA does…