Compounding facilities specialize in preparing custom ordered medications prescribed for patients by a licensed physician.  Although the intent of compounding medications is to benefit patients therapeutically, the ingredients used in these medications may present occupational hazards to the workers compounding them.

Hazardous exposure to workers may occur through inhalation of dust created during: hand manipulation; operation of a tablet encapsulation machine; and by performing sieving and granulation operations.

The greatest risk is to workers who are compounding these medications, people in adjacent work areas also may be at risk of exposure which can occur through inhalation of “fugitive” drug aerosols, or by contact with contaminated surfaces and floors.

Occupational health express that potent pharmaceutical compounds—including steroid hormones, opiates, antibiotics, and oncology therapies— have a history of causing disease in workers via inhalation and dermal exposure in the workplace .

Unfortunately, potent compounds don’t have good warning properties: Operators can’t see, feel, or smell them or sense them in any other way at hazardous levels of concentration. Thus, operators can’t independently determine whether the compound or the surrounding area is safe.

Suggested Industrial Vacuums for Recovery of Potent Compounds

PrestiVac HEPAPlus* Vacuums are specifically designed to safely vacuum toxic dusts. Equipped with a Certified Absolute HEPAPlus*filter with an efficiency of 99.995% on 0.2 micron so there is no risk of exposure or contamination for the operator or the environment. These vacuums are tested for absolute filtration. Testing Method: IEST RP-CC034.3. H14. MIL-STD 282 / A.S.T.M. - D2986-91.  MPPS method EN 1822.

PrestiVac cleanroom vacuums are specifically designed to be used in ISO 4 (Class 10) cleanroom/controlled environments for decontamination control. The stainless-steel construction is easy to clean and sterilize. The exhaust air is filtered through a ULPA filtration system with an efficiency of 99.9995% @ 0.12 microns, eliminating the risk of any contamination. Our cleanroom vacuums are grounded and ESD safe so there is no risk of any static build up. Our cleanroom vacuums are also equipped with an electromagnetic (EMI), radio frequency interference (RFI) filter to protect any electronic equipment in the cleanroom.

Which Industries are at Risk with Potent Compounds?