[Histonet] Disposal Practice for Blades and Slides

[Gayle Callis]

For blades, razor blades, scalpel blades and hypodermic needles - we have
bioharzard sharp boxes sitting in all biohazard/non biohazard work areas.
The boxes are tidy and perfect ALL sharps to guarantee nothing is dropped
INTO a garbage can to endanger maintenance or lab personnel. You can buy
them in bigger sizes - 

Disposable microtome blades are NOT allowed to be returned to bottom of
blade boxes (vendor should eliminate this little slot!).  This is a
potential source of contamination the next time someone dispenses a blade,
particularly with cryostat use for unfixed, fresh tissue.   

Broken glassware, paraffin slides (old stained or unstained slides),
pasteur pipettes go into a glass disposal box. 

Frozen sections from unfixed fresh tissue are immersed into either NBF or
bleach, then disposed of in broken glass box.  We try to take care of
POTENTIAL biohazards in fresh fresh tissue frozen sections this way.  If we
have to do it, these are autoclaved before glass disposal.       


Gayle Callis
MT,HT,HTL(ASCP)
Research Histopathology Supervisor
Veterinary Molecular Biology 
Montana State University - Bozeman
PO Box 173610
Bozeman MT 59717-3610
406 994-6367 (lab with voice mail)
406 994-4303 (FAX)