[Histonet] Re: Xylene sensitivity

[Bob Richmond]

Some points that haven't been mentioned in this discussion:

I think most labs have switched from xylenes to aliphatic hydrocarbons
for processing, hydration, and dehydration though obviously
considerable controversy remains. (I can't imagine anybody switching
from xylene to limonene now - particularly because limonene smells bad
and is something of an allergen or other sensitizer. The aliphatics
(Pro-par and many others) are all quite odorless to my not very
sensitive nose.

The one place where you can't eliminate xylenes (or the closely
related aromatic hydrocarbons benzene and toluene) is in coverslipping
- they still haven't come up with an aromatics-free mounting resin.

For somebody with sensitivity problems, formaldehyde is just as big a
problem. Many clinical labs still don't have adequate ventilation of
their grossing areas - I'm working in two these days that don't - and
I wind up choking on the stuff fairly often. There is no substitute
for a gross desk that draws the air over your work into louvers set at
hand level - the Nut-One kitchen hood set high overhead doesn't do it.

It seems to me that a technologist with the problems you describe
ought to be able to work in a properly ventilated laboratory, and
since inadequate ventilation is an OSHA issue, histology labs really
need to be adequately ventilated.

Bob Richmond
Samurai Pathologist
Knoxville TN