Procedures for Developing the NIOSH List of Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings

This document lays out the methodology the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) uses to determine if a drug meets the criteria for placement on the NIOSH List of Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings. It also sets forth the process parties can use to request that a drug be added to the list or reconsidered for removal or a different placement on the list.

In 2004, NIOSH published NIOSH Alert: Preventing Exposures to Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings. This Alert included a sample list of drugs that can be hazardous to healthcare workers who handle, prepare, dispense, administer, or dispose of these drugs. The purpose of the Alert was to increase awareness among workers in healthcare settings and their employers about the health risks posed by working with hazardous drugs and to provide them with measures for protecting their health. NIOSH has periodically updated that list from 2010 through 2016 as the NIOSH List of Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings.

Procedures for Developing the NIOSH List of Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings

Suggested Citation

NIOSH [2023]. Procedures for developing the NIOSH list of hazardous drugs in healthcare settings. By Whittaker C, Ovesen JL, MacKenzie BA, Hartley T, Berry KA, Piacentino J. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2023-129, https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHPUB2023129