The use of alcohol-based hand rubs are highly recommended for hand hygiene to reduce hospital-acquired infections. Most commercially available contain 70% by weight of ethanol and isopropanol during hygienic hand disinfection, users would be exposed, for short periods, to a sudden change in ethanol concentrations from 0 to 14.3 mg/L.

Even though many airborne contaminants within a clinical setting can be removed using high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration. This method alone will not remove VOCs.

Ultimately limitation and control of VOC build-up in a hospital is the most effective way of ensuring that our dedicated healthcare works are patients have limited exposure to these compounds.
This can be done in a number of ways:

• Room separation
  Restricting the passage of air between clinical procedures room by double-door gasketed windows which prevents the passage of VOCs from one room to another.
• Furniture
  Avoiding wood or polished or painted furniture which can give off formaldehyde and other VOCs. Alternatively using steel furniture which can be washed beforehand and then outgassed is preferable as the VOC concentration released is much lower.
• Out-gassing plastic
  Ensuring plastic equipment such as petri-dishes and pipettes are opened in plenty of time and in a separate room to allow it to vent and out-gas.
• VOC-free paints and cleaning products
  Using paints that are guaranteed to be VOC free and alternative cleaning products that are free from ethanol helps to limit additional VOC exposure.
• Laboratory workers
  Limiting the use of cosmetics, perfumes and smoking of all staff working in the lab.