Specifications

was dispensed for approximately 5-10 seconds and the remainder of the time was spent filling

out the biopsy record sheet.

Nurses wore rubber latex gloves while dispensing the formalin. A plexiglass splash shield was

fixed above the formalin container. The only ventilation located in the room was the general

dilution ventilation provided by the HVAC system of the building.

According to the nurses, the formalin container is kept in its original cardboard shipping box

because it often leaks around the spigot (see photo 5 in Appendix 2). A new spigot is shipped

with each formalin container and is screwed into the new full container. This leak causes the

cardboard around the container to become wet and give off formaldehyde vapours even after

dispensing has stopped.

3.2 Maternity Ward

Labour and delivery is located on the third floor of Langley Memorial Hospital and contains 12

labour and delivery rooms. Once a patient is admitted they are assigned to a room where they

will labour, deliver and recover prior to discharge. Nitrous oxide is piped into each room from a

central supply located in the basement of the building. A sampling location plan is located in

Appendix 1 of this report and photographs can be found in Appendix 2.

The delivery rooms contain a bed, sink, sofa, bathroom and have cupboards located behind the

head of the bed that contain the nitrous oxide supply, mask, scavenging system and suction.

The nitrous oxide delivery system is a demand system. Gas is dispensed when the mother holds

the mask tightly against her face and inhales and the scavenging system is activated when the

mother exhales into the mask. Nitrous oxide exhaled into the mask is captured by the

scavenging system and exhausted to the outside. Hospital protocol states that the mother must

hold the mask at all times (and not have the father hold it) to prevent her from overdosing on the

gas (unconsciousness would result before a lethal overdose could occur). If the mother did not

have a good seal between the mask and her face then the gas could not be dispensed.