AR HB1718

Healthcare facilities licensed by the Arkansas Department of Health must use smoke evacuation systems during surgical procedures involving energy-generating devices (tools using heat, laser, electricity, or other energy) that are likely to produce surgical smoke

Smoke evacuation systems must effectively capture and neutralize surgical smoke at the site of origin before it can contact the eyes or respiratory tract of room occupants

Surgical smoke is defined as gaseous by-products from energy-generating devices, including surgical plume, bio-aerosols, laser-generated airborne contaminants, and lung-damaging dust

Smoke evacuation systems are not required to be interconnected to surgical ventilation or medical gas systems

The State Board of Health and Department of Health may take enforcement action under § 20-9-215 for violations of these requirements