First, Do No Harm
Here’s the latest place you’re likely to be exposed to toxic pesticides: inside an ambulance.
Yes, the next time you’re lying flat on your back en route to the hospital, try not to think about the Nano-sized particles of disinfectant pesticides that were misted on every interior surface of the ambulance before you arrived. Pesticides meant for use on hard, non-porous surfaces, not skin, not blankets used to keep you warm, not the bandages used to dress your wounds.
After receiving complaints of health problems suffered by paramedics working inside these “micro-misted” ambulances, the EPA has asked New Jersey-based Mammoth-Ocean Hospital Services Corp.
(MONOC) to stop administering the misted pesticides until it can determine whether they are safe and if they are being used according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
According to the material safety data sheets for two of the chemicals included in the compound, “respiratory protection should be used whenever ventilation cannot be relied upon”. Since the misting occurs when the ambulance doors are closed, there isn’t much chance of getting adequate ventilation.
I guess the safest bet is to avoid injuring yourself and skip the whole crazy ride all together.
Read on for the full story.