Occupational health risk assessment of formaldehyde and xylene in pathology department of a medical institution
LIU Lei1, CHEN Dong1, CHENG Ting-ting1, TANG Kun1, CAI Xiu-xiu2, XUE Teng-fei3, LI Peng-fei1, JIANG Zheng-hao1, LI Kai-chun1
1. Liu’an Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Liu’an, Anhui 237005, China; 2. School of Public Health, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui 241002, China; 3. School of Public Health, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, Anhui 233030, China
Abstract:Objective To investigate the hazard status of formaldehyde and xylene in the workplace of pathology department of a medical institution, to evaluate their occupational health risk levels, and to provide a basis for taking risk control measures. Methods The comprehensive index method was used to evaluate the occupational health risk levels of formaldehyde and xylene exposure of medical technicians in material, technical and diagnostic rooms of the pathology department. Results In the process of working in the pathology department, there were many hazards of formaldehyde and xylene in the fixation, material extraction, tableting and diagnosis of pathological tissues. The protective facilities in the workplace were mainly fume hoods and upper suction hoods. The emergency rescue facilities were mainly sprinklers. Occupational disease protection products included medical masks, gowns and medical gloves. Emergency rescue measures and occupational health management were not normative. The medical technicians worked 8 hours per shift and 5-6 days per week, and the time of exposure to chemical harmful factors per shift was 1-4 hours. The hazard levels of formaldehyde and xylene were evaluated as grades Ⅳ and Ⅲ. Formaldehyde detection was performed in a total of 32 samples collected from 12 positions. The detection contact concentration ranged from 0.02-1.14 mg/m3, and the over-standard rate was 25.00%. The average detection contact concentration of extraction, technical and diagnostic rooms was 0.26 mg/m3, 0.32 mg/m3 and 0.17 mg/m3, respectively, and the contact levels of formaldehyde were Ⅳ, Ⅲ and II, respectively. The risk indexes of exposure to formaldehyde in medical technicians were 4, 4 and 3, respectively, and the risk levels were high risk, high risk and medium risk, respectively. Xylene was detected in a total of 24 samples collected from 8 positions, the detection contact concentration ranged from 3.30-36.43 mg/m3, and no over-standard position was observed. The average detection contact concentration of extraction, technical and diagnostic rooms was 3.30 mg/m3, 9.93 mg/m3 and 3.79 mg/m3, respectively, and the contact levels of xylene were II, Ⅳ and II, respectively. The risk indexes of exposure to xylene in medical technicians were 2, 3 and 2, respectively, and the risk levels were low risk, medium risk and low risk, respectively. Conclusions The medical institution should focus on adopting engineering control and personal protective measures, regularly perform hazard detection and strengthen occupational health training and occupational health monitoring in pathologists so as to effectively reduce occupational health risks of exposure to formaldehyde and xylene.
刘磊, 陈栋, 程婷婷, 唐昆, 蔡秀秀, 薛腾飞, 李鹏飞, 姜正好, 李开春. 某医疗机构病理科甲醛和二甲苯职业健康风险评估[J]. 实用预防医学, 2020, 27(1): 68-72.
LIU Lei, CHEN Dong, CHENG Ting-ting, TANG Kun, CAI Xiu-xiu, XUE Teng-fei, LI Peng-fei, JIANG Zheng-hao, LI Kai-chun. Occupational health risk assessment of formaldehyde and xylene in pathology department of a medical institution. , 2020, 27(1): 68-72.