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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 89
February Session, 2022
LCO No. 1115
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING SURGICAL SMOKE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2022) (a) As used in this section: 1
(1) "Hospital" means an establishment licensed pursuant to chapter 2
368v of the general statutes for the lodging, care and treatment of 3
persons suffering from disease or other abnormal physical or mental 4
conditions; 5
(2) "Outpatient surgical facility" means any entity, individual, firm, 6
partnership, corporation, limited liability company or association, other 7
than a hospital, licensed pursuant to chapter 368v of the general statutes 8
to engage in providing surgical services or diagnostic procedures for 9
human health conditions that include the use of moderate or deep 10
sedation, moderate or deep analgesia or general anesthesia, as such 11
levels of anesthesia are defined from time to time by the American 12
Society of Anesthesiologists, or by such other professional or accrediting 13
entity recognized by the Department of Public Health; 14
(3) "Surgical smoke" means the by-product of the use of an energy-15 Raised Bill No. 89
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generating device during surgery, including, but not limited to, surgical 16
plume, smoke plume, bioaerosols, laser -generated airborne 17
contaminants and lung-damaging dust; and 18
(4) "Surgical smoke evacuation system" means a system, including, 19
but not limited to, a smoke evacuator, laser plume evacuator or local 20
exhaust ventilator that captures and neutralizes surgical smoke (A) at 21
the site of origin of such surgical smoke, and (B) before the surgical 22
smoke makes contact with the eyes or respiratory tract of any person in 23
an operating room during surgery. 24
(b) Not later than January 1, 2023, each hospital and outpatient 25
surgical facility shall develop a policy for the use of a surgical smoke 26
evacuation system to prevent a person's exposure to surgical smoke. 27
Not later than October 1, 2023, each hospital and outpatient facility shall 28
implement such policy and report to the Department of Public Health 29
regarding the implementation of such policy. 30
(c) Not later than January 1, 2024, the Commissioner of Public Health 31
shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the 32
general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General 33
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health 34
regarding each hospital's and outpatient surgical facility's policy 35
regarding the use of a surgical smoke evacuation system and the 36
implementation by each hospital and outpatient surgical facility of such 37
policy. 38
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2022 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To require hospitals and outpatient surgical facilities to adopt and
implement a policy to prevent human exposure to surgical smoke
through the use of a surgical smoke evacuation system. Raised Bill No. 89
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[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]