Dear Kathy,

	The simple answer is yes.  But I think you will find people in hundreds of
labs with exactly the same situation.  There are 2 simple ways to reduce
any possible hazard; 
	1: Wipe the inside of the lid & the top of the coplin jar with a moist
tissue or sponge after you finish your staining.  This is not always
practical if you are in a busy lab, & you need everybody to take
responsibility for this little chore.  
	2: Apply a little bit of vaseline or grease to the inside of the lid.  You
still need to keep everything reasonably clean but the the friction of
removing the lid is lost.  As a bonus you also get a better seal & less
evaporation of you solution.

	I have heard stories from long ago when picric acid crystals would be
placed on a bench top & 'slapped' with a ruler, they go off like little
fire crackers.  

	Regards

	Rob.

At 08:58 AM 8/10/99 EST, you wrote:
>Rob,
>I have a question. We still use Bouins as a mordant for some staining 
>procedures. We usually reuse a coplin jar of bouins for weeks, since 
>we use it infrequently. I have noticed that there is dried bouins 
>between the lid and glass coplin jar after it has been opened (the 
>lids twist off) I have been somewhat concerned by this small 
>amount of dried bouins. Do you think this is explosive?
>Kathy
>************ Thank you ************
>* Kathy Oprea                     *
>* University of Georgia           *
>* College of Veterinary Medicine  *
>* Athens, GA 30602-7388           *
>* KOPREA@calc.vet.uga.edu         *
>The worker who's never said "Thank
>God it's Friday," probably never
>really worked.
>************************************
>
>
>
R. Wadley, B.App.Sc. M.L.S, Grad.Dip.Sc.MM
Laboratory Manager
Cellular Analysis Facility
School of Microbiology & Immunology
UNSW, New South Wales, Australia, 2052
Ph (BH) 	+61 (2) 9385 3517
Ph (AH)	+61 (2) 9555 1239
Fax 	+61 (2) 9385 1591
E-mail	r.wadley@unsw.edu.au
www	http://www.micro.unsw.edu.au/caf.html