"Bare naked" hands in the cryostat?  Besides sounding like a topic for
the "erotic histology" workshop, the practice of not using gloves for
frozen sections sounds crazy to me.  However, the persons who choose not
to glove up are adults and professionals and are, I hope, aware of the
risks.  The administration, however, must be concerned about liability.
Make sure there is a policy regarding the use of Personal Protective
Equipment during the microtomy of fresh, frozen tissue.
Regarding open flames, we have used an alcohol burner for years and have
had a couple of flaming incidents.  My suggestion is to make sure there
is a fire extinguisher located nearby.
 Don Luke, HT (ASCP)
SOUTH GEORGIA MEDICAL CENTER
DEPARTMENT OF PATHOLOGY
2501 N. Patterson St
VALDOSTA, GA 31603
PHONE (912) 259-4830



>----------
>From: 	sjrugby@juno.com[SMTP:sjrugby@juno.com]
>Sent: 	Monday, November 09, 1998 5:52 PM
>To: 	histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
>Subject: 	SAFETY ISSUES
>
>Histology comrades,
>	I am "the new guy" to the lab and am concerned about the
>following possible safety issues...
>
>-Open flame. (bunsen burner)  I personally haven't used an open flame for
>embedding since       1984...  If find several forceps in the heated
>wells quite adequate.  We've already had one          flaming garbage can
>(that was hidden from the lab manager) and singed log sheets...
>-Glove-less frozen sections - Currently one other tech (also new) and
>myself are the only ones    to use gloves while cutting a frozen section.
> The other 5 techs use their bare-naked hands.
>-Glove-less coverslipping - Again the new tech and myself are the only
>ones to use gloves.
>
>Don't want to be a "tattle-tale" to the lab manager and I have brought it
>up to the "Team", but no one seems concerned except me.  Any
>comments/suggestions?
>
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>