title: [Chemical risk in health environment: contribution to the evaluation and management of the risk to health].
abstract: Among the many workplaces where there is a chemical risk, hospitals are surely one of the most complex when it comes to risk assessment. Numerous highly toxic substances are routinely used; clinical decisions often mean health workers come into contact with latest-generation drugs whose secondary effects are not yet fully known; they may have to execute procedures using different chemicals at the same time, as often happens in therapy or surgery. We studied two provincial hospitals in order to make a preliminary risk assessment, using an algorithm model. The chemical risk in the environments analyzed was mainly moderate, though some specific settings call for closer attention. Certain at-risk conditions can be solved by simple procedural changes, but others need to be tackled with a view to residual risk management. Some critical points came to light, linked to the algorithm employed, which need further examination to fit the model better to this particular context.
authors.affiliation: ISPESL, Dipartimento di Medicina del Lavoro, Monteporzio Catone (RM). bruno.papaleo@ispesl.it
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Papaleo
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Caporossi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Coscia
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Malfatti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Serva
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000633:toxicity*; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D016273:Occupational Exposure; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D015386:Hazardous Substances