Pearl,
There are numerous references for using sodium hydroxide as a
decontamination tool.
Two that first come to mind are "Tissue Handling in Suspected Creutzfeldt -
Jakob Disease and Other Human Spongiform Encephalopathies (Prion Diseases)"
published in Brain Pathology 1995 by Herbert Budka et al .  Another good
reference is Dr.  Barbara Crain's article in CAP Today, January 1996:
"Safety Tips for anatomic studies of possible CJD.  There are different
opinions on what concentration of NaOH to use, but many agree on its
effectiveness.  I agree, it is definitely better to deactivate prion prior
to processing with formic acid treatment of tissues.
My reason for encouraging sodium hydroxide use is as an alternative to
bleach.  Sodium Hydroxide is more stable than bleach which must be used
FRESH>

Hope this helped,
Jennifer



Jennifer Hofecker, HT (ASCP)
University of Rochester
Pathology
(716)273-4129




> ----------
> From: 	Gervaip@aol.com
> Sent: 	Wednesday, January 10, 2001 9:51 PM
> To: 	Hofecker Jennifer; Histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
> Subject: 	referrence for CJD
> 
> Jennifer, how about a reference for using the sodium hydroxide to 
> decontaminate solutions?  Personally, I prefer to deactivate the prion
> before 
> contaminating my processor... but there will be times we will not know
> until 
> the damage has been done.  Thanks, Pearl
> 
>