You said: " Unfortunately, Safety Data Sheets (SDS) note that some of these popular stains may contain suspected carcinogens, toxins, and mutagens..."
Damn. Well, they ARE toxic. They are dyes. There is a reason there are about 3000 commercially available dyes and only 6 are approved for food -- and one of those is a low-level carcinogen.
REJOICE in those SDSs. Finally the GHS brings truth to the lab. That was the intent of the E.U. and 162 other countries when they adopted the GHS before we did. You are missing the GLORIOUS opportunity these SDSs provide for teachers to do the following:
1. Get them to see that there are serious hazards in lab work and they need to follow the teachers' direction.
2. Teach the principle that no one was ever harmed by a chemical to which they were not exposed.
3. That principle translates into a perfect motive to wear the gloves and work carefully. They can be safe simply by following the proper precautions. My, what an amazing idea.
4 . And if it is carcinogens that make the students freak, great! Show them an analysis of vaping smoke and identify the known and suspect carcinogens in this crap.
5. And if it were my high school class, I'd use it as an opportunity to look at the chemical moieties and classes that make those stains toxic or cancer-causing. Next, I'd show them the similar structures of some of untested pigments and dyes in their clothes, art materials, etc. Theb, I'd cover the US laws that allow untested chemicals to be labeled "nontoxic" v. the Precautionary Principle. And show how it was this difference in laws that caused the E.U. (and many other countries) to adopt the GHS and give us a June 2015 deadline to clean up our act or stop exporting to most of the rest of the world.
(Of course I dream. I know the schools' "politically correct" position on product toxicity is to require teachers to tell the same lies to students that manufacturers' ads do.)
6. NOW -- at long last -- you just might have motivated your students to actually look at a GHS SDSs and learn about IARC, acute and chronic toxicity, etc. Bingo, you have a leg up on proper safety protocol in your lab.
And personally I ask the teachers out there: How DARE schools and teachers in the past have used known or suspect carcinogens in the lab, in any amount or for any purpose, without providing the toxicity data first?
Monona
-----Original Message-----
From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Sent: Tue, Jul 23, 2019 7:07 am
Subject: [DCHAS-L] NSTA Safety Blog: How Safe Are Biological Stains?
How Safe Are Biological Stains?
In middle and high school science labs, biological stains, such as basic fuchsin, crystal violet, and Congo red, are used to enhance properties of microscopic plant and animal cells/tissues. Unfortunately, Safety Data Sheets (SDS) note that some of these popular stains may contain suspected carcinogens, toxins, and mutagens...
(more at address above)
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