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. 2025 Jun 30;76(2):119-123.
doi: 10.2478/aiht-2025-76-3971. eCollection 2025 Jun 1.

Formaldehyde containment efficiency with a next-generation grossing station promising safer use in anatomical pathology practice

Stefano Dugheri  1 , Giovanni Cappelli  2 , Ilaria Rapi  2 , Niccolò Fanfani  2 , Donato Squillaci  2 , Antonio Baldassarre  2   3 , Veronica Traversini  2   3 , Simone De Sio  4 , Nicola Mucci  2   3
Affiliations

Formaldehyde containment efficiency with a next-generation grossing station promising safer use in anatomical pathology practice

Stefano Dugheri et al. Arh Hig Rada Toksikol. .

Abstract
in English, Croatian

Healthcare needs to re-evaluate its resources and make the processes more efficient. The pathologist's workspace is often narrow and limits access to grossing information mid-procedure. An ergonomic, open-front containment console - called grossing station - can improve this situation. Besides collecting airborne formaldehyde and chemical fumes, its cupboard with adjustable vertical protective screen simplifies the workflow with a customisable open work surface that allows image acquisition and includes voice recognition and waste dispensers. However, its containment efficiency and compliance with international safety standards has not yet been investigated. The aim of our study was to address this lack of information and propose a standard procedure for testing containment efficacy of next-generation grossing stations. For this purpose we ran the potassium iodide test and a formaldehyde leak test with a new tracer-gas method on a new DFB900 grossing station model and established that its protection factor of 105 complied with the EU standards and the NIOSH safety limits. Future research should include a range of new grossing stations and a wide spectrum of harmful compounds that pose occupational health risk to their operators.

Redovita procjena resursa i povećanje učinkovitosti postupaka nužnost su u zdravstvenoj skrbi. Radni prostor patologa često je uzak i ograničava pristup informacijama tijekom analize uzoraka materijala. Ergonomska konzola s otvorenim prednjim dijelom – koja se često naziva radna stanica i/ili digestor – može poboljšati ovu situaciju. Osim što sprječava širenje formaldehidnih i kemijskih isparina, njezin ormar s podesivim vertikalnim zaštitnim zaslonom pojednostavljuje rad s prilagodljivom otvorenom radnom površinom koja omogućava snimanje, uključuje prepoznavanje glasa i uređaje za odlaganje otpada. Međutim, njezina učinkovitost u kontroli izloženosti formaldehidu iz zraka i usklađenost s međunarodnim sigurnosnim standardima još uvijek nisu istražene. Cilj našeg istraživanja bio je utvrditi upravo to: koliko su takve stanice/digestori uspješni u zaštiti radnog prostora te predložiti standardizirani postupak za njihovo testiranje učinkovitosti kontrole formaldehida u zraku. U tu svrhu proveli smo test kalijeva jodida (pomoću KI disk metode) i test ispitivanja koncentracije formaldehida u zraku pomoću nove metode praćenja curenja plinova na modelu radne patološke stanice/digestora DFB900 te ustanovili da je njezin zaštitni faktor 105 i da udovoljava EU-ovim standardima i zaštitnim ograničenjima NIOSH-a. Buduća istraživanja trebaju obuhvatiti niz novih radnih stanica za anatomsku patologiju i širok spektar štetnih spojeva koji predstavljaju rizik za zdravlje radnika u patološkim laboratorijima.

Keywords: containment capacity; gas chromatography; granica kratkoročne izloženosti; kapacitet zadržavanja; occupational safety; optical gas imaging; optičko snimanje plinova; plinska kromatografija; potassium iodide test; short-term exposure limit; sigurnost na radu; test curenja plina; test kalijeva jodida; tracer-gas leak test.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Test to assess formaldehyde gas containment on the worktop of the DFB900 grossing station: a) pre-calibrated laser infrared spectrometer; b) optical gas detection thermal camera
Figure 2
Figure 2
Movement of formalin vapour (black arrows) by the grossing station ventilation system recorded with the optical gas imaging camera
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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