Risk of exposure to formaldehyde in pathological anatomy laboratories

Abstract

This work described an analysis study of the risk of occupational exposure to formaldehyde in pathology labs of university. One hundred thirty-two air samples of the breathing zone were collected in the activity labs (macroscopic examination of surgical pieces or biopsy, tissue processing and chemical waste disposal), during five weeks. To quantify the formaldehyde present in the ambient of histology laboratory, NIOSH 2016 method was used, for this matrix, based on the formaldehyde derivatization reaction in tubes acidified with 2,4-DNPH was optimized. The geometric mean ambient concentrations of formaldehyde, among the activities under investigation, were between 0.7 and 3.7 ppm indicating high levels of the substance during the week. It was verified that 100 % of the students had exposures above the exposure limit, i.e., greater than a maximum concentration (MC) of 0.3 ppm (NP 1796: 2007).