Protecting Healthcare Workers from Formaldehyde Exposure: Risks, Regulation, and Solutions

This is an EBN webinar examining the occupational risks of formaldehyde exposure in healthcare and the practical steps organisations can take to protect their workforce. Hosted by the European Biosafety Network, this session brings together regulatory expertise and international occupational health insight to examine the hazards facing healthcare workers who handle formalin, the legal obligations now placed on employers, and the changes needed to make safer practice a reality. Dr Acran Selman Navarro, Chair of the ICOH Scientific Committee on Occupational Health for Health Workers, will examine the health effects of formaldehyde exposure, what rigorous exposure controls look like in practice, and how organisations can strengthen training and establish continuous monitoring programmes. Josh Cobb, Secretary of the EBN, will explore why exposure in laboratories and operating theatres can reach concentrations far exceeding safe levels, why the updated CMRD (2022) and COSHH Regulations require employers to eliminate exposure at source, and why closed-system specimen containers represent the proven solution that meets this legal standard. This session is intended for laboratory managers, theatre leads, occupational health teams, safety leads, and policymakers with an interest in protecting healthcare workers from formaldehyde exposure.