Tonya,
I switched back to xylene because we were getting inconsistant staining with
our immunos.  Also, the H & E stain wasn't as crisp.  One other problem we
had with a xylene substitute was the tissue was not being processed
correctly.  My techs expressed their concern about xylene and the hazards.
I had an air sampling performed and it showed we were reading 1.0ppm xylene
over an 8 hour period.  I think OSHA's maximum exposure is 100 ppm per 8
hours.  We haven't had a problem since.

Joe Nocito, B.S., HT(ASCP)QIHC
Histology Supervisor
Christus Santa Rosa Hospitals
San Antonio, Texas 


> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Tonya Van Der Velde [SMTP:tonya.van.der.velde@marine.csiro.au]
> Sent:	Monday, March 13, 2000 11:44 PM
> To:	Histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
> Subject:	xylene vs histolene
> 
> Hi
> 
> Do many labs use histolene now instead of xylene?  Does it work as well?
> Are there any disadvantages in using this chemical
> instead of the standard xylene?
> 
> thanks in advance 
> 
> regards
> Tonya
> 
>