Table 2.

The hazards class and concentration of carbon dioxide, formaldehyde and carbon monoxide in surgical smoke before LEEP and during LEEP

Chemicals	Hazards class (IARC)	LMD	Before LEEP	During LEEP	P value
Carbon dioxide	NA	0.01	0.072 ± 0.007 %	0.098 ± 0.015%	< 0.001
Formaldehyde	1	0.01	0.012 ± 0.001 mg/m3	0.023 ± 0.009 mg/m3	< 0.05

LEEP, loop electrosurgical excisional procedure; IARC, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1, carcinogenic to humans; 2A, probably carcinogenic to humans; 2B, possibly carcinogenic to humans, less than sufficient evidence; 3, not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans; NA, not available in IARC; LMD, lowest mass of detection