Every year, millions of healthcare employees are exposed to hazardous drugs, such as chemotherapy, antiviral drugs, and hormones—all of which may have damaging effects on the body, resulting in a broad spectrum of adverse health conditions ranging anywhere from mild skin irritations to leukemia and other forms of cancer.
In an effort to improve safety and bring more attention to hazardous drugs, NIOSH has released a draft of proposed changes to the agency’s hazardous drug list.
"NIOSH List of Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings 2014," builds on a 2004 NIOSH alert that warned health care workers of the risks of working with hazardous drugs and discussed precautionary measures. The list was updated in 2010 and again in 2012, but the new document proses the addition of 28 drugs new drugs, including four that already had safe-handling recommendations from the manufacturer, and the removal of one drug, tetracycline, from the agency’s hazardous drug list.
For more information, see the June 3 Federal Register. Comments on this list may be submitted until Aug. 2, 2013, by visiting Regulations.gov.