Chemical risk in health environment: contribution to the evaluation and management of the risk to health

Among the many workplaces where there is a chemical risk, hospitals are surely one of the most complex when it comes to risk assessment. Numerous highly toxic substances are routinely used; clinical decisions often mean health workers come into contact with latest-generation drugs whose secondary effects are not yet fully known; they may have to execute procedures using different chemicals at the same time, as often happens in therapy or surgery. We studied two provincial hospitals in order to make a preliminary risk assessment, using an algorithm model. The chemical risk in the environments analyzed was mainly moderate, though some specific settings call for closer attention. Certain at-risk conditions can be solved by simple procedural changes, but others need to be tackled with a view to residual risk management. Some critical points came to light, linked to the algorithm employed, which need further examination to fit the model better to this particular context.