I can remember one of my science teachers in high school got bad burns after she dropped a bottle of the stuff and her hands were all icky and scabby for weeks.
So here I am watching the entertaintment-deficient horror film Unrest and these people are literally swimming in the stuff with no ill effects. Even at a highly-diluted state, is this likely?
I spilled some on my hands after getting a piece of glass removed from my foot, and I didn’t seem to suffer any burns or anything, though I did make sure to wash it off promptly. Not sure what concentration was in the container.
First of all, the source of your information is a MOVIE! They don’t have to be literal.
Formalin is used more often now than full strength formalydhyde. It isn’t as destructive to living tissue. As long as the area is flushed with lots of water, it’s usually ok.
I once splashed formalin in my eye. It was flushed with 20 liters of normal saline. I had no permanent damage.
They were swimming in Formaldehyde (boiling point -20C or thereabouts)? Where did this scene take place? And how did your teacher come to have a bottle of it in liquid form?
picunurse has the right of it, I think. Formalin is much more likely than formaldehyde, and if you water it down enough (i.e. lots and lots and lots, to homeopathic levels) you could drink formalin without ill effect. In air the legal limit appears to be down around 0.016ppm, so there’s a benchmark for a ‘safe’ concentration.
However it’s usually sold as a solution of 37% formaldehyde - that would certainly screw you up good and proper. Swimming in it would not be adviseable.
I remember in junior high that frogs set for dissection were mounted on this waxy black stuff. The stuff was called “formaldehyde” casually, although it was not a liquid. Pungent, unforgettable odor … not a bad smell to me, just really unique. That stuff seemed to be perfectly safe to touch.
So, what was that black, waxy stuff?
The characters in the movie were in a college human anatomy dissection lab. The sign on the door entering the lab said “Warning! Formaldehyde in use. Skin irritant.” There’s a scene where several bodies in the lab are floating in a large tank of the stuff. Two of the students want a closer look at a particular body, so they try to fish her out using a large hook. The body in question is snagged on another body, so they dive right in to loosen her.
I had the distinct pleasure (back about 1975) of cleaning up a formaldehyde spill. In a small trailer. I opened every vent I could find but the odor was trememdous. I picked up the glass from the spill and began to mop up the vile chemical with rags. Yes, rags.
Long story short: Hands and arms covered with the shit (which I rinsed off half-hour later), and I inhailed more than I care to remember. I do remember everything tasting like formaldehyde for a couple days. Even beer!
Never got sick though, damn lucky.
Wax, probably. That’s what we’ve always mounted dissections on. If it’s been re-used, like ours, that stuff has probably sucked up a lot of formalin over the years.
Formalin (4% formaldehyde solution, usually) is quite toxic, and just the fumes present a significant risk of harm, but it won’t cause immediate burns. I’ve also worked with 37% formaldehyde (the industrial supply concentration), but I can’t recall if it ever touched my skin; I kinda think it did, and I kinda think it didn’t do any harm by the time I washed it off.
The MSDS lists it as a corrosive contact hazard to the skin, causing irritation, whitening, or burns, but I don’t know how long it has to contact the skin for that to happen, or if it’s even a common effect. The fumes are nasty, though.
just to reiterate the above. Formaldehyde is a gas, but common terminology also uses that to refer to the solutions of it as well. These solutions can typically range from 1 up to 40%.
If the bodies were at a hospital and were to be used for teaching purposes then the formaldyde conentration would be very low (2-5%). This would be harmless enough for a few seconds exposure. It would still be quite irritating to the eyes though
Oh … so the black waxy stuff was just something to mount the frog on. For the past 25 years, I thought the black waxy stuff was, itself, the preservative :smack:
A little ignorance has been fought today.
Formalin, the solution used as a preservative in pathology, does not cause burns to skin exposed to it for brief periods. I have had occasions where there was a hole in my surgical gloves and formalin-soaked tissue came in inadvertent contact with my skin for periods of up to an hour or more. The result was a deadened area of skin which later peeled, but this was a superficial effect without any scarring.
Formalin is thought to be a potential carcinogen, though I don’t know of any human studies linking chronic exposure to specific increases in cancer rates.
I remember a dumb movie from awhile back where the heroine had to escape a killer in a lab and submerged herself in a vat of formalin for a minute or so. I’d think that would be highly unpleasant and cause significant mucous membrane/respiratory irritation. But then again, we’re dealing with a movie, so she had no ill effects.
Where can I get a small amount of formalin? What safety precautions do I need? A few years ago, I was given a dead bat in a jar of preservative. The level of fluid has dropped over the years. I worry about the bat rotting and want to add more formalin.
Most veterinarians keep a gallon or two around for preserving specimens submitted for histopathology. If someone asked me for a little, I’d happily supply it. Mailing it is tough, or I’d offer to send some to you.
Thank you, Vertbridge. I actually live down the street from an animal hospital. With my specimen of the order Chiroptera (the ears are flopped down over the face hiding the tragus, noseleaf, and teeth I’d need to inspect to make a more precise identification), I should be able to convince them that I am not some stupid junkie who wants to smoke or inject the stuff.
Hey, I just realized you are in Philly. If you are given a hard time, I can fix you up with someone in easternPA who can help you.
Before you look for more, are you sure the preservative IS formalin? Was the bat a purchased specimen, or home-preserved? If it was purchased, there’s an excellent chance it’s immersed in a formaldehyde-free mixture; these have gotten very common since formaldehyde was suspected as a carcinogen. If there’s a label with a company name, contact them for information and possible refills.
If the bat was home-pickled (my, what interesting friends you have), it may be in alcohol (isopropyl or ethyl), which you can identify from the smell, assuming the bat hasn’t added smells of its own. Alcohol needs frequent top-ups, but is easy to obtain.
Of course, you can also ID formaldehyde from the smell (carefully!), and if you already have, disregard all the above. But I’ve met people who thought they knew what formalin smelled like and were wrong, and I know formalin preservatives are a lot less common than they used to be, so I wanted to save you a formalin hunt if it’s not necessary.
The bat was given to me already sealed in the jar. I assumed the fluid was formalin. There is no label. Hmm, now I need to open the jar and smell it. How do I differentiate between ethyl and isopropyl alcohol? What exactly does formalin smell like? What’s the worst case scenario of guessing wrong and mixing fluids? What preservative is best?
BTW- I was given the bat by an ex girlfriend. We were having a fight at the time. When I saw that specimen pressed against the glass, I knew we would get back together.
I’ve worked with formalin for a number of years, preserving biological specimens. It isn’t corrosive, but even short exposure to a dilute solution (minutes) will begin to affect skin cells (probably denatures proteins in the outermost, dead layers of the epidermis), so that the finger tips will feel as if they are less sensitive. The skin will have a papery feel to it. Prolonged exposure over days will result further thickening of the skin and cracking, and the cracks will be somewhat painful – very painful if you get more formalin into them. This is with dilute formalin (10%). Fumes from full strength formalin, which is a 40% is just too irritatilng to the nasal membranes & lungs to tolerate for more than a whiff, affect the skin similarly but quicker. Even he dilute formalin used for preserving is very irritating to inhale. It’s best to wear gloves and a respirator (with a filter that is specifically designed to remove formalin fumes). Formalin is also carcinogenic.