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Nurses, professional groups press for mandatory surgical‑smoke evacuation policies
Summary
Nurses, perioperative associations and hospital staff urged the committee to require smoke‑evacuation systems in operating rooms, citing studies that surgical plume contains hazardous chemicals and can cause respiratory and other health problems for staff and patients.
Nurses, perioperative organizations and occupational safety advocates told the Joint Committee on Public Health that surgical smoke generated during electrocautery and laser procedures exposes operating room staff — and potentially patients — to hazardous chemicals, viral fragments and particulate matter, and asked the committee to advance H.2442/S.1482 to mandate smoke‑evacuation policies.
Speakers from the American Nurses Association of Massachusetts, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) and the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses testified about surveys and occupational evidence showing persistent symptoms among operating room staff and inconsistent use of evacuation equipment. "It's not about having the surgical smoke equipment available. It's about ensuring the equipment already present is used 100% of the time," said Cammie Daniello of ANA‑Massachusetts.
Frontline nurses recounted personal health effects and daily exposure. "This is my bag. These are my inhalers ... This is what I had to carry just to go to work every day," testified Andrea Dyer, an operating‑room nurse. Perioperative groups said the technology is available and affordable and that 18 states have enacted similar laws or rules; they described the measures as workforce safety, patient protection and recruitment/retention tools.
Supporters urged a state mandate so hospitals would adopt consistent policies and use existing equipment; they described the law as an enforceable backstop to voluntary industry guidance. The committee accepted testimony and will consider the bills alongside voluntary hospital association efforts.
