The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
announces the publication of the following document entitled "NIOSH
List of Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings
2012.'' NIOSH is making available a copy of Appendix A at
www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2012-150
Background: The NIOSH Alert: NIOSH published Preventing
Occupational Exposures to Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in
Health Care Settings in September 2004 (www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2004-165/).
Appendix A of this Alert defined hazardous drugs and
provided a list of drugs that were considered hazardous and required
special handling. In 2010, NIOSH published an update to this list
(www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2010-167/).
Since publishing the 2010 update to the list, NIOSH reviewed approximately 70 new drugs that
received FDA approval and approximately 180 drugs that received new
special warnings (usually black box warnings) based on reported adverse
effects in patients covering the time period from October 2007 to
December 2009. From this list of approximately 250 drugs, NIOSH
determined 26 drugs to have one or more characteristics of a hazardous
drug. In addition, NIOSH removed 15 drugs from the 2012 list because
they did not meet the NIOSH definition, were no longer available in the
U.S or were regulated by other government entities. NIOSH published
this preliminary list for comment in NIOSH Docket Number 190.
After expert panel review, public review and comment, and review of
the scientific literature, NIOSH has developed a revised list of
hazardous drugs. Along with drugs initially identified in the 2010
Hazardous Drug List, NIOSH is adding a total of 26 new drugs to the
2012 NIOSH List of Hazardous Drugs and is deleting 15 drugs.