Re: Bunsen burners in a pathology laboratory

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From:"P. Emry" <emry@u.washington.edu>
To:Gregory Lloyd <grcall@hotmail.com>
Reply-To:
Date:Fri, 16 Apr 1999 18:48:48 -0700 (PDT)
Content-Type:TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Wait, Wait, I've got it....electric forceps wired to a temp control
that would never get hot enought to burn paraffin...in a stand with a
drip catcher .  We could all be rich.  Just remember where this came from
when the royalties flow in.
or
Heat in an oven a container of small boiling beads like the chemists use.
There is some ceramic sand that retains heat too.  Stick several sets of
forceps in it.  To clean the forceps put them in a container of xylene
substitute in the back of the hood.

I gota million of 'em.
Trisha
 On Thu, 15 Apr 1999, Gregory Lloyd wrote:

> Hi folks,
>   I have just signed on to the histonet site...some interesting 
> topics!  I have an interesting topic for people out there.  I have 
> been the safety representative for our histology lab now for about 
> one year.  A concern that I have is the use of bunsen burners in 
> the pathology lab,  these are used to melt the wax off the forceps.  
> I am aware of the safety concerns and issues about open flames in the 
> lab.  My question out there is are others using bunsen burners,to 
> melt wax off the forceps, or do you have another alternative that is 
> not an open flame?  If so would you let me know what you use, where 
> it can be found..or what different techniques are used.
> 
>   Some alternatives that the lab has investigated are:
> 
> 1) Microbiology uses an electric heater - this is a sealed well and 
> the melted wax would pool in the bottom and possibly catch fire.
> 
> 2) Eliminate all form of heating and just wipe off the forceps with 
> a tissue wipe.  Some people still want to heat the forceps for the 
> more difficult cases to embed. 
> 
> 3) My favorite is the wells in the embedding center, using multiple 
> forceps.  The heat is still adequate and using three or four forceps 
> off sets the slow reheat time.
> 
>   The lab would like to find out what others do to get a feel for the 
> industry standard.
> 
>   Thank you in advance for your response.
> 
> 
> Cameron Lloyd, MLT-CSMLS.
> University of Alberta Hospital
> Capital Health Authority
> Edmonton Alberta
> Canada
> 
> ______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
> 
> 

Trisha Emry 
U of Washington, Seattle




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