subject: Exposures to Hazardous drugs and the precautionary measures [print this page] Every thing has both advantages and disadvantages. Likewise, drugs also have many advantages and some disadvantages. On one hand, the drugs in the form of medicines can be used to heal the deadliest diseases and save innumerable lives. But on the other hand, their exposures can cause severe harmful effects and can even lead to the deaths of millions of people. Hazardous drugs are the curatives that are developed from different types of chemicals. These perilous chemicals produce innumerable health hazards when they are exposed.
The workers engaged in the pharmaceutical industries for the manufacturing of useful drugs and handling units are more prone to the exposures of these perilous drugs. From the urine tests of several workers, various harmful chemicals are identified in their bodies. These hazardous chemicals are basically carcinogens, sensitizers, reproductive toxins, corrosives, irritants and highly toxic agents. All of these chemicals are greatly fatal and can induce various short term and long term health hazards.
ASHP and OSHA have formulated different criterias to classify the drugs. These criterias can determine which drugs are hazardous and which are non-hazardous. These organizations have also designed various safe Handling programs to deal with these harmful chemicals. Hazardous drugs possess certain characteristics such as carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, developmental toxicity, genotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, organ toxicity etc.
According to the different safe handling guidelines formulated by numerous organizations, every healthcare unit should possess their own list containing all the hazardous drugs being used by them based on the criteria's published by ASHP and OSHA. The exposures to the perilous drugs can be very lethal as it badly contaminates the surroundings. Therefore, care must be taken by all the workers engaged in all sorts of drug related activities. Strict adherence to all the safety guidelines and proper implementation of the safety equipments can reduce the risks of exposures to hazardous drugs.
Exposures to Hazardous drugs and the precautionary measures
