General Issues of Safety in Plastination

BIODUR® Products GmbH, Im Bosseldorn 17, 69126 Heidelberg, Germany ABSTRACT: When people intend to start plastination at their institute, they are sometimes unaware of the scope of equipment, auxiliaries and chemicals they need. They may be even less aware of the potential hazards which arise from plastination. Certain chemicals may pose acute or chronic health hazards. Acetone, which is mostly used for dehydration and defatting, is a flammable liquid and therefore brings about fire and explosion hazards. In this paper, information about the characteristics of some commonly used chemicals in plastination is provided. Suitable personal protective equipment must be used to allow for safe working when handling these substances. For chemicals posing an inhalation hazard, technical room ventilation or workplace ventilation is required to keep the concentration of hazardous vapours below their respective workplace concentration limits. If ventilation is not sufficient, respiratory protection must be worn. Avoiding the risk of fire and explosion caused by handling of acetone or other flammable liquids is achieved by a combination of measures: Proper laboratory furnishings (ventilation system, electric installations, etc.) are of importance as well as the design of the equipment used for plastination. Depending on the result of the local risk assessment, some appliances like solvent pumps or fans should be designed to be explosion-proof. Organisational protective measures support the technical measures in order to enhance occupational safety. Here, proper instruction of staff is of particular importance..