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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 89
February Session, 2022
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
generating device during surgery, including, but not limited to, surgical 16
plume, smoke plume, bioaerosols, las er-generated airborne 17 Substitute Bill No. 89
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contaminants and lung-damaging dust. "Surgical smoke" does not 18
include the by-product of the use of an energy-generating device during 19
a gastroenterological or ophthalmic procedure, which by-product is not 20
emitted into the operating room during surgery; and 21
(4) "Surgical smoke evacuation system" means a system, including, 22
but not limited to, a smoke evacuator, laser plume evacuator or local 23
exhaust ventilator that captures and neutralizes surgical smoke (A) at 24
the site of origin of such surgical smoke, and (B) before the surgical 25
smoke makes contact with the eyes or respiratory tract of any person in 26
an operating room during surgery. 27
(b) Not later than January 1, 2023, each hospital and outpatient 28
surgical facility shall develop a policy for the use of a surgical smoke 29
evacuation system to prevent a person's exposure to surgical smoke. 30
Not later than October 1, 2023, each hospital and outpatient facility shall 31
implement such policy and, upon request, provide a copy of such policy 32
to the Department of Public Health.33
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2022 New section
PH Joint Favorable Subst.