Health, Safety and Environmental Practice in the Mortuary
The legal frame
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974; COSHH 2002 (assessment, control, monitoring, health surveillance, training and emergency plans); PPE Regulations; RIDDOR; the Environmental Protection Act 1990 with hazardous waste rules; and the biocidal products regime for the chemicals themselves. Formaldehyde is a recognised carcinogen and respiratory sensitiser; in the UK the workplace exposure limit is 2 ppm for both the 8-hour and 15-minute reference periods. Always check current national values.
Control in practice
Engineered ventilation, local exhaust at the table, closed mixing systems, avoiding decanting neat formalin, formaldehyde-appropriate respiratory protection, nitrile gloves, aprons, eye protection, spill kits, eye-wash facilities, segregated waste and no neat chemical to drain.
Traps and a rule of thumb
Examiners test smell used as a measure of exposure (olfactory fatigue and adaptation make it unreliable); mixing bleach with formaldehyde; assuming a surgical mask stops formaldehyde vapour; pouring waste down the sink; and lone working without an emergency plan. Rule of thumb: apply the hierarchy of control in order - eliminate, substitute, engineer, administrate, and only then PPE, which is the last line of defence and not the first.