ABSTRACT
Among the more irritating and diffi cult to quantify volatile organic compounds that are routinely found in the hospital are the two aldehydes, formaldehyde, and glutaraldehyde. Table 14.1 shows the currently established and acceptable Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) permissible exposure limits (PELs), American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) threshold limit values (TLVs), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended exposure limits (RELs), and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ’s (DFG, German Research Foundation) maximum allowable concentrations (MAKs) for each of these two organic compounds.
