Comprehensive interventions to reduce occupational hazards among medical staff in the pathology department of five primary hospitals

OBJECTIVE: To explore comprehensive interventions to reduce occupational hazards among medical staff in the pathology department of five primary hospitals. METHODS: The indoor air quality in the pathology department of five primary hospitals and the health status of staff were investigated and analyzed. Formaldehyde and benzene concentrations in the technical and diagnostic rooms of the pathology departments were analyzed before and after comprehensive interventions. The Environmental Protection Agency risk assessment paradigm was used to assess the health risks from occupational exposure to benzene and formaldehyde. Consequently, considering the local environment, targeted comprehensive intervention measures were developed, including optimizing management, raising awareness, updating equipment, and replacing reagents. RESULTS: Eye discomfort was higher among technicians in the pathology department than among clinical medical staff (P < 0.05). Before comprehensive interventions, formaldehyde concentrations were higher in the technical room than in the diagnostic room at the five primary hospitals (P < 0.05). However, compared to before interventions, formaldehyde and benzene concentrations in both rooms were significantly lower after comprehensive interventions. Furthermore, although medium risks of occupational exposure to benzene and formaldehyde remained in both rooms before and after comprehensive interventions, the risk values before interventions were higher than after comprehensive interventions. The staff of the technical rooms showed higher risk values that those of the diagnostic rooms before and after comprehensive interventions. Similarly, although hazard quotient (HQ) values for occupational exposure to benzene and formaldehyde were < 1 in both the technical and diagnostic rooms before and after comprehensive interventions, with lower noncarcinogenic risks, the values were higher before than after comprehensive interventions. Moreover, staff in the technical room had higher HQ values before and after comprehensive interventions than those in the diagnostic room. The use of environmentally friendly reagents for the preparation of frozen sections was effective. CONCLUSION: Comprehensive interventions significantly reduced occupational hazards among staff at the pathology department of five primary hospitals, which is of great practical significance to protect the health of staff. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-023-16948-2.