Why are nurses exposed to more carcinogens than other professions??

[psustudent5]

BLS.gov says that

"nurses must observe rigid, standardized guidelines to guard against disease and other dangers, such as those posed by radiation, accidental needle sticks, chemicals used to sterilize instruments, and anesthetics" and other websites on Google said how nurses are more exposed to occupational carcinogens than physicians and other careers. Why is this and what carcinogens do you come into contact with on a daily basis that other professions don't??

[sunny d]

I would've thought chemists were exposed to more carcinogens...?

[TigerGalLE, BSN, RN]

Well my husband works on a research fruit farm and sprays pesticide. I think he'd be more at risk than myself.

[neonatal_nurse]

I think that news is partly true. The moment we step inside the hospital or a facility, there's just too much chemicals in the air. Most stuff we don't even know about. I myself don't bring most of my personal items like accessories because it's just too filthy in there! Let's admit that to ourselves. I'm in the NICU and we have cleaning days at least once a week, but still, when we get results of our regular culture, despite all the cleaning and prevention, we still have bacteria like pseudomonas. We can't control all these things obviously, even with our efforts, pathogens are still in the air. But what we can control is our lifestyle. By living healthy- having a good diet, (preferably natural foods and less processed ones when we can avoid it) well balanced activities like exercise and recreation as well as having a good support system would help us prevent this deadly disease. But sadly, even after all these, we don't know what the future holds, my aunt recently died of lung CA and she's been an ER nurse since the 60's.

[RNperdiem, RN]

Smoking has been mostly stamped out at my "smoke-free" facility that the drive to work is still the most dangerous part.

[HealthShepherd]

I believe there have been studies showing that night shift is carcinogenic.

(I am serious, in case anyone's wondering.)

[sethmctenn]

I would think it depends on which area of the hospital you work. The poor people who sterilize instruments with ethylene oxide gas probably have a much much higher risk than we do. I'm guessing that chemo nurses or pharmacists who mix chemo have a much higher risk as well.

[spd2nurse]

I currently work in Sterile Processing and yes we are exposed to a host sterilization chemicals that are known carcinogens, ethylene oxide being the main culprit. There are many new precautionary measures in place to guard against over-exposure but there's still the possibility. I wonder about long term exposure to other chemicals as well, like hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid. I think its time to do a little research for myself.

[Teresag_CNS]

other websites on Google said how nurses are more exposed to occupational carcinogens than physicians and other careers.

Where did you read this? It's hard to respond without knowledge of the source and its contents. Many chemotherapy agents are carcinogenic, and some nurses administer these solutions, but certainly not all nurses. Were there any other particular carcinogens mentioned?

[psustudent5]

It was posted by OSHA or the United States Department of Labor. If you scroll down, there is a list of agents.

http://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_vi/otm_vi_1.html

[psustudent5]

Posted is the site I was referring to.

http://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_vi/otm_vi_1.html