Surgical Smoke Legislation

The Canadian Standards Group (CSG), formerly known as the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), is a standards development organization responsible for testing, inspecting and certifying products in healthcare and other market standards. CSG Health & Safety standards are recognized by regulatory bodies including the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). CSG developed a standard for smoke evacuation in Canada in 2009 and revised the standard in 2013; titled Z305.13-13 Plume Scavenging in Surgical, Diagnostic, Therapeutic, and Aesthetic Settings, this standard outlines information on purchasing, installing, testing, using, servicing, and maintaining plume scavenging systems (eg, surgical smoke evacuation). This standard states that any healthcare facility applying techniques that create plume must have policies that address potential associated hazards. It also discusses the application of required engineering controls to mitigate surgical smoke exposure risk, such as ensuring 20 total air exchanges per hour.