Working in operating rooms, an unhealthy existance?

A literature survey indicates that some complaints occur relatively frequently among anesthetists and nurses working in operating rooms. Pollution of the air in the operating rooms by anesthetic gases is often considered as a possible cause. On account of this the degree of pollution has been determined. Concentrations of nitrous oxide and halothane were measured using an infrared absorption spectrophotometer. In each room the concentrations were measured at several different sites. In naturally ventilated operating rooms the concentrations increased steadily during operation. The measured values lied mostly between 1500 and 3000 ppm (vol/vol) for nitrous oxide and between 15 and 35 ppm for halothane. In mechanically ventilated operating rooms where no recirculation is applied a constant level was found some time after the beginning of an operation. The concentrations varied from about 100 to 500 ppm for nitrous oxide and from 1 to 5 ppm for halothane. In naturally ventilated operating rooms the anesthetic gases were rather homogeneously spread, while in mechanically ventilated rooms there was an inhomogeneous distribution. Scavenging of waste anesthetics is recommended.