Division of Anatomical Sciences, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Clin Anat. 2020 Sep;33(6):876-879. doi: 10.1002/ca.23573. Epub 2020 Feb 3.
Preservation techniques have evolved over the years to respond to the need of longer dissection periods, with formaldehyde being widely used for this purpose. In recent years, efforts have been focusing on reducing the health hazards of this fixative and the rigidity of the tissues embalmed with it. With every embalming technique that they are either developing or resurrecting from various protocols, institutions need to assess the fire and health hazards of all the chemicals being used. Compliance with the storage and handling safeguards listed in the Material Safety Data Sheet of each chemical, needs to be accompanied by infrastructure changes. To reduce the health hazards of formaldehyde, institutions are taking appropriate countermeasures directed at the source itself, by using substitutes or injecting formaldehyde chelating agents, and are adopting high performance air extraction systems to protect the users. However, little is known about the flammability risk of embalmed human bodies. During a recent visit to McGill University morgue by architects and safety inspectors to expand it, we were asked about the flammability risk of the embalmed specimens, so we carried out a flashpoint test to evaluate the flammability potential of specimens embalmed with each of our three embalming techniques: formaldehyde-based, Thiel, and phenol-based. With the phenol-based embalming showing the most risks, attention should be drawn to all institutions who are experimenting with various embalming techniques to evaluate the flammability potential of their embalmed specimens.
保存技术多年来一直在发展，以满足更长的解剖时间的需要，甲醛被广泛用于此目的。近年来，人们一直致力于减少这种固定剂的健康危害以及用它保存的组织的僵硬。随着他们从各种方案中开发或复活的每一种防腐技术，机构都需要评估所有使用的化学品的火灾和健康危害。机构必须遵守化学品材料安全数据表中列出的储存和处理安全措施，同时还需要进行基础设施的改变。为了减少甲醛的健康危害，机构正在针对甲醛本身采取适当的对策，使用替代品或注射甲醛螯合剂，并采用高性能空气提取系统来保护使用者。然而，对于经过防腐处理的人体的可燃性风险知之甚少。最近，在建筑师和安全检查员参观麦吉尔大学太平间以扩大其规模时，我们被问到防腐标本的可燃性风险，因此我们进行了闪点测试，以评估我们使用的三种防腐技术之一的标本的可燃性潜力：基于甲醛、Thiel 和基于苯酚的防腐技术。由于基于苯酚的防腐技术显示出最大的风险，应该提醒所有正在尝试各种防腐技术的机构，以评估其防腐标本的可燃性潜力。
