[Histonet] 10% Neutral Buffered Formalin - Methanol?

[Jessica.Vacca <@t> HCAhealthcare.com]

I have to say that we were just inspected by Florida AHCA-fire safety. We order Richard Allen 10% NBF-5 gallon cube, the inspector informed me that the formalin should be stored in a flammable cabinet. I of course told him that everywhere else I have worked I have never retrieved formalin from a flammable cabinet, so I got my MSDS and showed that in the storage and handling area of the MSDS there is nothing about storing w/ flammables-I was very proud of myself and willing to put up the fight.......However, he stated that because there is a "1" in the flammable section of the NFPA symbol located on the box-it classifies it as a Class 2b flammable/combustible liquid and therefore must be stored in a flammable cabinet. So money that could have gone to bigger and better things must now go towards a flammable cabinet. He also stated that NFPA out rules the MSDS........

Jessica Vacca
Histology Supervisor
Brandon Regional Hospital
813-571-6410

-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Mark Ray
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 2:54 PM
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: Re: [Histonet] 10% Neutral Buffered Formalin - Methanol?

The Methanol concentration of Formalin, 37% is frequently described on 
the MSDS as 10-15%.  However, I believe the actual Methanol 
concentration is  normally at the low end of that range.  Both 
Formaldehyde  Gas and Methanol are Flammable.

Commercial 10% NBF typically  contains about 1.1% Methanol and 3.7% 
Formaldehyde.  The  Flash Point of this water solution defines it as a 
Combustible Liquid.  It is not correct to call  it or handle as as a 
Flammable Liquid and it does not normally require Flammable Liquid 
storage and precautions.  Let the Safety Officers of your institution 
determine how you should handle and store these quantities of a 
Combustible Liquid.

Regards,
Mark



On 11/17/2010 10:42 AM, Geoff McAuliffe wrote:
> Commercially purchased 37% formaldehyde has had a small amount (about 
> 1.5% I think) of methanol added to it for many, many years. It helps 
> to prevent the polymerization of formaldehyde into insoluble 
> paraformaldehyde. It certainly does not make the stock solution 
> flammable and it is not contributing to drying out of your tissues. 
> Those who want methanol-free formalin make it from paraformaldehyde 
> but for LM there is no point.
>
> Geoff
>
>
> Jones, Laura wrote:
>> Greetings to all of you in Histoland.  Our lab recently switched from 
>> using a formalin substitute to using 10% Neutral Buffered Formalin.  
>> Our Pathologists have been unhappy with the small tissues, like GI 
>> biopsies and prostate cores.  They say they are seeing too much 
>> chatter and poor nuclear detail.  We have adjusted our processing 
>> times with only mildly better results.
>>
>> Today, I arrived at work to find staff cramming boxes and boxes of 
>> prefilled formalin vials into flame cabinets, as JCAHO is here this 
>> week.  It occurred to me that 10% NBF was not considered flammable 
>> when we used it years ago, and I was surprised to find that the MSDS 
>> for the bottles we had ordered listed methanol as an ingredient.  I 
>> immediately went back to my early days in Histo, when we made up 10% 
>> NBF ourselves from 37% concentrate; and we did not have any alcohol 
>> in our "recipe".  I thought I had discovered our whole problem!  
>> However, upon further research, we have found that most prefilled 
>> bottles DO contain methanol.  The large 20 litre cube, however does 
>> not list methanol as an ingredient.
>>
>> So, my questions are many.  Does that inclusion of methanol 
>> contribute to the drying out of tissues that we are seeing?  Does 
>> anyone sell prefilled bottles that contain methanol-free formalin?  
>> And, finally, does anyone have any other thoughts or suggestions?  I 
>> should add that we use Toluene as our clearing agent, because our 
>> former Pathologist believed it was less harsh on the tissues; and we 
>> are running our tissues on the Thermo Excelsior.  We are running 
>> small biopsies and large pieces of tissue together, which I know is 
>> not optimal, but we are a small hospital and one processor is it!  I 
>> am not a chemist and would appreciate any advice.  Thanks in advance.
>>
>>
>>
>>   ________________________________
>>
>> Sharon Regional Health System is the area's largest hospital
>> and provider of health care services. Visit us online at
>> http://www.sharonregional.com for a complete listing of our
>> services, primary care physicians and specialists, and satellite 
>> locations.
>>
>> Confidentiality Note: This message is intended for use
>> only by the individual or entity to which it is addressed
>> and may contain information that is privileged,
>> confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable
>> law. If the reader of this message is not the intended
>> recipient or the employee or agent responsible for
>> delivering the message to the intended recipient, you are
>> hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or
>> copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If
>> you have received this communication in error, please
>> contact the sender immediately and destroy the material in
>> its entirety, whether electronic or hard copy. Thank you.
>> _______________________________________________
>> Histonet mailing list
>> Histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
>> http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
>>
>>
>
>


_______________________________________________
Histonet mailing list
Histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet