Testing of Formalin Gas Levels in the Anatomy Laboratory Practicum Room

Testing of Formalin Gas Levels in the Anatomy Laboratory Practicum Room
Faculty of Medicine Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII)
(Study of Toxicity Levels Compared to Standard Threshold Values)

 

Abstract: Formaline solvent is widely used in life, for example as a preservative cadaver in anatomy laboratory. Solvent formaline can evaporate easily, in the form of gas it should react with the mucous layer quickly, especially in the respiratory tract. In the human body, it is oxidized to form formic acid, especially in the cells of the liver and red blood. In many earlier studies, the short-term exposure caused irritation to the local mucous surfaces of the eyes, nose and up the respiratory tract. However, the long term exposure caused tumor growth in the rat nose, pulmonary tissue damage and asthma reactions in sensitive individuals. The aim of the study is to measure the formaline gas concentration and compare the result with the Threshold Limit Value (TLV) that is safe for health. The research is a non-experimental study with associative analysis. The research objects were practice space, storage cadaver space and lobby of Anatomy Laboratory. The research subjects were divided into 3 phases of measurement, phase I is measurement in the atmosphere (control), phase II is measurement in practice space laboratory during activities and phase III is measurement in practice space laboratory with no activities. Formaline gas concentration in practice space Anatomy Laboratory is under the TLV (TLV: 0.3 ppm) with no activities. During activities, it is over the TLV: in preparation space 0,99569 ppm and practice space 0,37804 ppm. Formaline gas concentration in practice space during activities is over the TLV. It is a risk to cause some health disorders, especially to users and staff of the laboratory. It needs good planning of practice programs and design of anatomy laboratory based on safety.
Keywords: formaline, toxicity value, threshold limit value, anatomy laboratory, Faculty of Medicine Islamic University of Indonesia.

Author: R. Edi Fitriyanto, Zainuri Sabta Nugraha