[Histonet] paraffin block disposal in NYS

[Annette Featherstone]

As per NYS department of Health:
Questions have also arisen regarding the appropriate disposal of organs and
tissues which have been fixed for cytological and/or histological
examination. Since the fixatives are considered to be hazardous materials,
organs and tissues discarded with these chemicals must be processed as
hazardous waste, except for blocks of tissue in paraffin or similar
embedding materials. The latter prevent the fixatives from leaching into the
environment and the chemical fixatives destroy any potential pathogens in
the tissue block. Therefore, tissue blocks can be discarded as solid waste.
 
Annette Featherstone