Janice, the disinfectant depends on the organism. For TB the recommendation
is to defrost and disinfect with a disinfectant suitable for TB - if you are
in a hospital they will have one designated for that. Check with Micro. For
most other agents, a wipedown with 95 percent alcohol, or exposure to
formalin vapor (requires defrosting and cleaning for full effectiveness) is
suitable.

here are a couple of old histonet posts on the subject
Fuming method
http://www.histosearch.com/histonet/May02A/Re.cryostatdecontaminatioA.html

References
http://www.histosearch.com/histonet/Mar00/Referencesforcryostatdeco.html

Tim Morken
CDC, Atlanta

-----Original Message-----
From: Janice Thomas [mailto:JThomas@hmc-ga.org]
Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2002 11:59 AM
To: Histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
Subject: Cryostat


What is the best way to disinfect a cryostat when T.B. (or any other
infectious organism) is suspected?
Thanks
Janice