Maryland has become the 21st U.S. state to require the use of surgical smoke evacuation systems in its ORs.
On May 26, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed House Bill 1087 into law. It goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2028.
The law requires all healthcare facilities in Maryland that perform surgical procedures to adopt and implement policies that require the use of a smoke evacuation system during all surgical smoke-generating procedures.
According to the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) and other advocates of surgical smoke evacuation, surgical plume can be toxic to the health of surgeons, staff and patients in the OR. AORN notes that surgical smoke is “full of carcinogenic and mutagenic cells, can include over 150 hazardous chemicals, including all 16 U.S. EPA Priority Pollutant PAHs, and likely exposes OR staff to biological (human) contaminants including aerosolized blood.” To put things into even sharper perspective, AORN adds that “the average daily impact of surgical smoke to the OR team is equivalent to inhaling the smoke of 27-30 unfiltered cigarettes.”
Read the Maryland Nurses Association’s Favorable Report on HB 1087 here (PDF).
Maryland joins Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia in going surgical smoke-free.
Jennifer Pennock, AORN's director of government affairs, has tirelessly played a pivotal role since 2018 in getting smoke evacuation legislation passed in all of these states.
“There are still a few more states with active legislation yet this year, so we are hoping to see more success,” Ms. Pennock tells Periop Leader Network, noting that legislative sessions in Massachusetts, Michigan and Pennsylvania remain ongoing.
