New Paper Out!

🎉🎉The new paper, lead by collaborator Eric D Speranza, “Initial assessment of multi-compound antineoplastic drug surface contamination in Argentinean healthcare centers: Insights into occupational exposures in South America” has been published.

Despite the growing concern regarding the passive occupational exposure to chemotherapy drugs, data from developing countries is extremely scarce, hindering the assessment of antineoplastic contamination in these countries where such drugs are increasingly used. As a first step towards filling this knowledge gap, we have measured antineoplastic drugs surface concentrations in multiple areas (i.e. Pharmacy, compounding room, daycare center patient hall) and surfaces of three representative public hospitals in Buenos Aires, Argentina, using well stablished wipe sampling and UPLC-MS/MS analysis. In this first survey in Argentina, we found complex and highly variable antineoplastic drugs distributions, accounting both for intra and inter hospital differences. Concentrations exceeding 1 ng cm-2 threshold level were found in several surfaces, pointing out the need for corrective actions to prevent occupational exposure of healthcare workers and public in general.