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IMPLICATIONS: This prospective study demonstrates that the incidence of sister chromatid exchanges in anesthesiologists exposed to waste anesthetic gases such as sevoflurane and nitrous oxide is more frequent in unexposed physicians in the same hospital. The increase of sister chromatid exchanges in anesthesiologists is reversible if they work free from exposure for 2 mo.

The possibility of a health hazard resulting from exposure to anesthetics has been discussed extensively during recent decades (1–7). There is a great concern that patients, physicians, and the operating room (OR) personnel might be exposed to health risks with anesthetic gases such as nitrous oxide, halothane, and isoflurane (6, 8). However, whether chronic exposure to waste anesthetic gases is hazardous to the health of anesthesiologists is still controversial. A meta-analysis suggested that chronic exposure to trace concentrations of …