OSHA Inspection: BOULDER SPAY/NEUTER CLINIC

Issued

Jun 15, 1987

Abate by

Sep 4, 1987

Penalty

Initial $200 · Current $100 Reduced

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The
employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were
free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death
or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to:
a) Employees were exposed to the hazards of Methoxy flurane present as a
waste anesthetic gas while performing spay and neuter operations. The
employer did not provide adequate controls during the periods of
administration of methony flurane in order to reduce occupational
exposure to waste gas. An employee was exposed to high levels of
methoxy flurane thereby being subjected to serious health hazards
such as:
1) Adverse reproductive effects including spontaneous abortion and
congenital abnormalities in offspring of exposed personnel; and,
2) Kidney and liver disorders.
A veterinarian performing spay and neuter operations at the Boulder
Spay/neuter Clinic was exposed to methoxy flurane at a time weighted
average (TWA) of 2.4 parts per million (ppm), 1.2 times the
recommended limit. The sampling was performed for 367 minutes on
April 2, 1987. Zero exposure was assumed for the unsampled period of
time (113 minutes).
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
recommends that methoxy flurane be controlled so that no worker is
exposed to TWA greater than 2 ppm.
Among other methods, feasible and acceptable abatement methods to
correct this hazard are:
1) Replace the old Ohio chemical and surgical equipment company
anesthetic machines with new, state-of-the-art anesthetic machines
which have scavenging systems which are more capable of controlling
waste gases and which can be serviced more readily.
2) Assure that the scanvenging exhaust system has no leaks in the
connections and corrugated tubing. Eliminate loosely taped
connections on the tubing with proper fittings and eliminate the
blue plugs in the exhaust lines which allow the anesthetic gas to
escape back into the workers breathing zone.
3) Turn off the anesthesia when an animal is not being prepped or
undergoing surgery.
4) Increase the fan velocity for scavenging system and ensure its
utilization during prep and surgery.
5) Perform preventive maintenance on anesthesia equipment at least
quarterly.
6) Employ an on-going air monitoring program to prove effectivenss of
the control measures.
ABATEMENT SCHEDULE
STEP 1: Submit to the Area Director a written, detailed plan of
abatement outlining a schedule for the implementation of engineering
and/or administrative measures to control employee exposure to
hazardous substances as referenced in this citation. This plan shall
include, at a minimum, target dates for the following actions which
must be consistent with the dates required by this citation:
1) Evaluation of engineering/administrative control options;
2) Selection of optimum control measures and completion of design;
3) Procurement, installation and operation of selected control measures;
4) Testing and acceptance of modification/redesign of controls,
All proposed control measures shall be approved for each particular
use by a competent industrial hygienist or other technically
qualified person.
STEP 2: Abatement shall have been completed by the implementation of
feasible engineering and/or administrative controls upon verification
of their effectiveness in achieving compliance.

Issued

Jun 15, 1987

Abate by

Jun 24, 1987

Issued

Jun 15, 1987

Abate by

Jun 24, 1987

Issued

Jun 15, 1987

Abate by

Aug 24, 1987

Issued

Jun 15, 1987

Abate by

Jul 20, 1987