In 1979, Falck and colleagues described the presence of chemotherapy in the urine of nurses caring for patients who had received chemotherapy.1 The discovery that merely handling chemotherapy drugs can lead to absorption of the chemotherapy drugs has been key in the re-evaluation of safety in healthcare environments. In 2004, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) alert noted that skin rashes, infertility, miscarriage, birth defects, and leukemia or other cancers may be associated with working with or near hazardous drugs.2
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