News Coverage
Survey: Nurses Exposed to Toxic Substances
Questions Raised About Health and Safety of Hospitals
Published December 12, 2007
Nurses are being exposed to noxious chemicals in the worlkplace at levels that may be making them sick, according to a new survey by the Environmental Working Group.
The results rely on a voluntary on-line survey that asked nurses about their health, and so those with health problems may have been more likely to participate, skewing the results. But the Environmental Working Group said it demonstrated that the government ought to take more responsibility for setting precautions that inhibit exposure to toxic cleansers and medications, like chemotherapy drugs, in medical settings, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
It is a no-brainer that we want our medical professionals healthy. If their environment is making them sick, it can't be good for vulnerable patients either. But, as with any work environment, those exposed day after day are the most susceptible to diseases caused by low-level toxins.