title: Exposure of research personnel to carbon dioxide during euthanasia procedures.
abstract: CO₂ is one of the most commonly used euthanasia agents for laboratory animals. Considerable research has gone into the effect of the agent on animals, but little has been done to examine potential human exposure during these procedures. In this study, we examine the CO₂ concentrations to which personnel are exposed while euthanizing rodents with CO₂. To examine the environmental levels of CO₂ generated during euthanasia, we examined several variables including flow rate, inclusion of a cage in the euthanasia chamber, inversion of the euthanasia chamber, chamber size, distance from the euthanasia chamber, and room size. Under all conditions, CO₂ concentrations in the room temporarily increased significantly to 600 to 4000 ppm. The results of this study show that, under several testing scenarios, occupational levels of CO₂ did not exceed governmentally mandated allowable exposure limits during routine rodent euthanasia procedures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Ashlee A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Amparan
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Shelly M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Djoufack-Momo
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Beverly
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Grunden
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, USA; Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, USA; Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Gregory P-
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Boivin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000830:Animals, Laboratory; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity*; D037901:Euthanasia, Animal / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D012108:Research Personnel
chemical_list: D002245:Carbon Dioxide