An environmental survey of compliance with Occupational Exposure Standards(OES) for anaesthetic gases

Environmental monitoring of nitrous oxide and volatile agents was carried o ut between August 1996 and October 1997 within operating theatre areas in e ight hospitals within the Bro Taf Health Authority. Static monitoring and p ersonal sampling were undertaken to assess compliance with the Occupational Exposure Standards introduced in January 1996 by the Health and Safety Exe cutive for anaesthetic agents. The monitoring concentrated on nitrous oxide with the results showing that compliance was being achieved. Limited monit oring was carried out of the volatile agents, which again were well below t he Occupational Exposure Limits. Monitoring was also carried out in nonthea tre areas in which anaesthetic agents were used. The results show that many of these locations, such as delivery suites and radiology units, have inad equate ventilation and no anaesthetic gas scavenging, both of which combine d to produce levels that exceeded the standards.