Assigned to HHS                                                                                                                     FOR COMMITTEE

 

 

 

 


ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Fifty-Fifth Legislature, Second Regular Session

 

FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2434

 

surgical smoke evacuation; requirements

Purpose

Effective July 1, 2024, requires outpatient surgical centers and hospitals to adopt and implement policies to prevent exposure to surgical smoke by using a smoke evacuation system for each procedure generating surgical smoke.

Background

Surgical smoke is produced by the thermal destruction of tissue by the use of lasers or electrosurgical devices and has been shown to contain: 1) toxic gases; 2) vapors and particulates; 3) viable and non-viable cellular material; 4) viruses; and 5) bacteria. There is little known about the health effects of chronic exposure to surgical smoke, however, acute health effects of exposure to surgical smoke have been shown to include: 1) eye, nose and throat irritation; 2) headache;
3) cough; 4) nasal congestion; and 5) asthma and asthma-like symptoms (CDC).

There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.

Provisions

1.   Requires, effective July 1, 2024, outpatient surgical centers and hospitals to adopt and implement policies to prevent exposure to surgical smoke by using a smoke evacuation system for each procedure generating surgical smoke.

2.   Requires DHS to ensure compliance with smoke evacuation system use during onsite inspections and in response to any complaint received relating to the system.

3.   Defines smoke evacuation system as smoke evacuation equipment and technologies designed to capture, filter and remove surgical smoke at the site of origin and to prevent surgical smoke from making ocular contact or contact with an individual's respiratory tract.

4.   Defines surgical smoke as the surgical plume that is generated from the use of an
energy-generating surgical device, including smoke plume, bio-aerosols, laser-generated airborne containments and lung-damaging dust.

5.   Becomes effective on the general effective date.

House Action

HHS                1/31/22      DPA       9-0-0-0

3rd Read          2/15/22                     57-2-1

Prepared by Senate Research

March 7, 2022

MM/CC/sr