![]() ![]() The exposed assistants had a 59% decrease in probability of conception for any given menstrual cycle compared with the unexposed assistants. A recent study reported that female dental assistants exposed to unscavenged N2O for 5 or more hours per week had a significant risk of reduced fertility compared with unexposed female dental assistants. Several studies of workers have shown that occupational exposure to N2O causes adverse effects such as reduced fertility, spontaneous abortions, and neurologic, renal, and liver disease. Data from these studies indicate that exposure to N2O during gestation can produce adverse health effects in the offspring. Health EffectsĪnimal studies have shown adverse reproductive effects in female rats exposed to airborne concentrations of N2O. ***Work practices are procedures followed by employers and workers to control controls are hazard controls designed into equipment and workplaces. Control is more difficult in dental operatories because only the patient’s nose is covered during anesthetic administration and scavenging, but both the nose and mouth can be covered in general operating theaters. This work environment was chosen because N2O is frequently used as the sole anesthetic agent in dental operatories and exposures there tend to be more difficult to control than in general operating theaters. To determine why occupational exposures to N2O are excessive even when scavenging systems are used, NIOSH has studied work practices*** and engineering for dental operatories. **Scavenging systems use local exhaust ventilation to collect waste gases from anesthetic breathing systems and remove them from the workplace. ![]() *In dental operatories, agents that cause conscious sedation (such as N2O) are commonly referred to as “analgesic agents.” Since publication of this technical report, data collected by NIOSH have shown occupational exposures as high as 300 ppm in hospital operating rooms and exposures higher than 1,000 ppm in dental operatories equipped with scavenging systems** (properly operating scavenging systems have been shown to reduce N2O concentrations by more than 70%). This report presented methods for limiting the concentration of waste N2O to 50 parts per million (ppm) during administration limit based on the technical feasibility of existing controls. ![]() In 1977, NIOSH published a technical report entitled Control of Occupational Exposure to N2O in the Dental Operatory. This gas is also used as a foaming agent for whipped cream, an oxidant for organic compounds, a nitrating agent for alkali metals, and a component of certain rocket fuels. N2O is used as an anesthetic agent* in medical, dental, and veterinary operatories. NIOSH requests that safety and health officials, editors of appropriate journals, manufacturers of anesthetic equipment, union representatives, employers, and managers bring the recommendations in this Alert to the attention of all workers who are at risk.ĩ4-100sum.pdf (Worker/Employer Summary Sheet Only) pdf icon Background These control measures should be part of a comprehensive written safety and health plan for workers. This Alert presents control measures for preventing or greatly reducing exposure to N2O during the administration of anesthetic gas. A recent study of workers and several experimental animal studies indicate that adverse reproductive effects may also result from chronic exposure to N2O. NIOSH concluded in 1977 that exposure to N2O causes decreases in mental performance, audiovisual ability, and manual dexterity. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) requests assistance in controlling exposures of workers to nitrous oxide (N2O) during the administration of anesthetic gas in medical, dental, and veterinary operatories. WARNING! Workers exposed to nitrous oxide (N2O) may suffer harmful effects. ![]()
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