Kjemisk arbeidsmiljö. Vurderinger basert på en spörreundersökelse blant tannhelsesekretaerer
Engelsk titel: A survey of dental nurses' assessment of the chemical working environment
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Författare:
Gjerdet NR
;
Moen BE
Email: gjerdet@odont.uib.no
Språk: Nor
Antal referenser: 27
Dokumenttyp:
Artikel
UI-nummer: 07023887
Sammanfattning
A questionnaire survey with nurses employed in both private and public dental health service was performed during a course on chemical exposure in the dental surgery. The respondents had a mean age of 47 years, and a mean employment time of 19 years. Circa 30??% of the respondents reported handling various chemicals for more than four hours daily. Their assessment of overall ventilation gave a rating of «relatively poor». Localized evacuation devices were available in about 25??% of the surgeries.
A majority of the surgeries do not use dental amalgam, thus limiting the handling of mercury. Exposure measurements in the clinics are not normaly performed; therefore data from Norwegian dental clinics is lacking. Nearly 30??% of the respondents had handled copper amalgam (involving heat) at some time before 1990.
An occupational health service («bedriftshelsetjeneste») is not mandatory for dental clinics in Norway, despite the handling of potentially hazardous chemicals, materials and procedures. Circa 25???% of the nurses employed in the public sector reported having such health services, but very few of these were in the private sector. It is suggested that dental practices should consider a systematic and periodic evaluation of occupational health and of the chemical working environment.