Surgical smoke protections blow through another Senate stop

A second Senate panel is advancing legislation to protect medical professionals from surgical smoke.

The Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee approved Sen. Tracie Davis’ legislation (SB 152).

The Jacksonville Democrat’s bill proposes requiring smoke evacuation systems to be used by the beginning of next year by any medical facility likely to “generate the gaseous byproduct” produced by lasers and electrosurgical devices.

The potential contaminants to be filtered include “surgical plume, smoke plume, bio-aerosols, laser-generated airborne contaminants, and lung-damaging dust.”

“OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) has noted in one of their online journals that in a pre-operative environment, the surgical team is often exposed to harmful chemicals, viruses and bacteria that are admitted into the air when heat generating instruments are used to cut human tissue during surgical procedures,” Davis said, justifying the bill.

Democratic Rep. Marie Woodson is carrying the House companion (HB 103). Both bills have one stop to go.

The legislation is part of a larger national push to curb this health hazard. While 18 states have laws on the books, 32 do not. Florida joins Arkansas, Delaware, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas in considering legislation this year.

As is the case in many states where smoke is on committee agendas, nurses were vocal Wednesday in support of the legislation, which is backed by the Florida Nurses Association.

Former operating room nurse Sandra Falk, who testified at the previous stop, noted that surgical masks do not block smoke particulate matter. After clearing her throat, she spoke of her own respiratory issues, suggesting strongly that surgical smoke caused them.