一份首度針對護理人員工作風險的調查指出，護理人員暴露在化學製品、藥物以及放射線的工作環境中，與他們的健康問題例如癌症、氣喘、流產與其兒女先天上的身體缺陷，是互為相關的。
非營利組織「環境工作團隊 (Environmental Working Group) 」研究副主席珍‧胡利漢(Jane Houlihan)表示，「護理人員每天暴露在含有大量的、不同的毒性化學物質與其他有毒物質的工作環境，而關於他們在經年累月下所造成的健康問題，卻從未進行研究。」
胡利漢進一步表示，「護理人員在照顧病患的同時，接觸或吸入可能危害健康的殘餘物。長期下來，將面臨潛在、而尚未經研究調查的健康風險。」
護理人員每天面對的化學物質，雖然毒性不強， 然而他們是持續暴露在混合各種有毒物質的環境中。護理人員接觸到的化學殘餘物包括藥品、麻醉劑、消毒化學製品、放射線、乳膠、清潔用化學製品、手部與皮膚用消毒產品，甚至是從故障的醫療設備中，所揮發出來的汞。
There are links between nurses' exposures to chemicals, pharmaceuticals and radiation on the job and health problems they develop such as cancer, asthma, miscarriages and children's birth defects, concludes the first national survey of nurses for these risks.
"Nurses are exposed daily to scores of different toxic chemicals and other hazardous materials whose cumulative health risks have never been studied," said Jane Houlihan, vice president for research at nonprofit Environmental Working Group.
"Nurses ingest, touch or breathe residues of any number of these potentially harmful substances as they care for patients, day after day and face potential but unstudied health problems as a result," she said.
Every day, nurses confront low-level but repeated exposures to mixtures of hazardous materials that include residues from medications, anesthetic gases, sterilizing and disinfecting chemicals, radiation, latex, cleaning chemicals, hand and skin disinfection products, and even mercury escaping from broken medical equipment.
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In my healing journey and learning to attain the breath awareness, I become aware of the reality that all the creatures of the world are breathing the same breath. Take action, here and now. From my physical being to the every corner of this out of balance's planet.
