John,
Exhausting the air to the outside could prevent those outside the lab from being exposed to formaldehyde but unless you locally exhaust the cadaver tables in
a particular manner (see:
http://www.anatomy.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/AIHCe%202013%20VS%20Plate%20Mortuary%20Table%20Poster%20Final.pdf), those dissecting the cadavers may likely be over exposed to formaldehyde.
Best,
-Frank Demer
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU]
On Behalf Of Nail, John
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 12:03 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Cadaver Discussion
Greetings,
Many thanks for the information regarding cadaver labs.
A bit of context: The issue appears to be the idea of converting a classroom into a cadaver lab without exhausting the air from the room directly to the outside
of the building.
Part of the on campus dialogue was the claim that the cadavers would not contain formaldehyde. The person making this claim produced a SDS that shows that the
embalming fluid contains '1 to 100 % methanol, 1 to 100% phenol, and greater than 1 % formaldehyde'.
John Nail
Professor of Chemistry
Oklahoma City University